Navigating the aftermath : evaluating COVID-19’s lasting effects – multiple case studies from Slovenian public administration

Vrbek, Sanja (author), Jukić, Tina (author)

Purpose – The paper adopts a holistic approach to studying the scale and scope of organisational change resulting from the COVID-19 crisis within the Slovenian public administration. It aims to go beyond the relatively narrow research focus of existing literature, which is confined to short-term responses to the crisis affecting specific organisational aspects of public administration. Design/methodology/approach – Theoretically underpinned by Nograšek and Vintar’s (2014) upgrade of Leavitt’s diamond model, the paper employs a multi-case study design to explore the long-term implications of COVID-19-induced changes within the Slovenian public administration. Findings – The findings reveal an uneven impact of the COVID-19 crisis across Slovenian state administration organisations in terms of the scale and scope of changes, noting that the two key long-term changes – telework and new digital communication channels – have not become equivalent alternatives to traditional work and communication methods. Moreover, the paper identifies changes within the element “people” as the primary disruptors of organisational equilibrium, triggering a ripple effect of changes within other organisational elements. Originality/value – The paper debunks the myth about the “radical” impact of COVID-19 by concluding that long-term changes have not altered the essence of (Slovenian) public organisations, characterised as traditional public administration. Theoretically, it demonstrates the need for a new adaptation of Leavitt’s diamond model to explain organisational changes in turbulent/crisis times.

• Language: English
• Keywords: COVID-19, organisational change, digital transformation, public administration, Leavitt’s diamond model, Slovenia
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FU - Faculty of Administration
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 25-44
• Numbering: Vol. 39, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-177839
• UDC: 35:004:005(494.4)
• ISSN on article: 1758-6666
• DOI: 10.1108/IJPSM-05-2024-0136
• COBISS.SI-ID: 223985155
• Publication date in RUL: 09.01.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of public sector management
• Shortened title: Int. j. public sect. manag.
• Publisher: Emerald
• ISSN: 1758-6666
• COBISS.SI-ID: 188748035

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: koronavirus, organizacijske spremembe, digitalna transformacija, javna uprava, Leavittov diamantni model, Slovenija

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P5-0093
• Name: Razvoj sistema učinkovite in uspešne javne uprave

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: J5-3105
• Name: Vplivi COVIDA-19 na organizacijske spremembe in digitalizacijo v javni upravi