GovTech Ecosystems in Latin America and the Digital Governance Paradox: A Systematic Review of Innovation Labs, Procurement Reform, and Collaborative Governance

Abstract

GovTech ecosystems in Latin America are expanding rapidly, yet many initiatives struggle to scale beyond isolated pilots. While prior research has identified technological and regulatory barriers, limited attention has been given to how technological, organizational, and environmental factors interact within public management systems. This study addresses that gap through a systematic literature review (SLR) conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and guided by the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework. A final sample of 90 studies was analyzed to examine how procurement regimes, innovation labs, and regulatory structures shape GovTech adoption and diffusion. The findings reveal a “Digital Governance Paradox”: although advanced digital tools are widely available, rigid procurement rules and institutional voids constrain experimentation and scaling. Innovation labs function as boundary-spanning intermediaries that partially compensate for environmental rigidity, yet their impact remains fragile without formal institutional embedding. These results suggest that scaling GovTech requires governance reform, particularly the transition from compliance-oriented procurement to challenge-based and iterative experimentation models. The study contributes a mechanism-based explanation of pilotization and advances innovation governance theory in emerging economy contexts.