Administrative professionals and the diffusion of innovations
The case of citizen service centers

This article examines how administrative professionals affect the diffusion of one-stop shops in the form of integrated citizen service centres (CSC) in a Danish local government setting. CSCs are an example of a new organisational form: functionally integrated small units (FISUs). The diffusion of the CSCs among municipalities is used to analyse how administrative professionals act as drivers in the process of innovation. Furthermore, it is examined how institutional, political and economic characteristics of municipals influence the likelihood of adoption. The findings highlight that a high concentration of administrative professionals indeed make the adoption of CSCs more likely. Additionally, the findings confirm three commonly stated hypotheses from the diffusion of innovations literature, namely that need based demands, wealth and the regional supply of CSC increase the likelihood of its adoption.