Between bytes, being, and the bridging of boundaries
The human dimension of policy capacity in rural Indonesia’s digital public service delivery
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22111193 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ipuk Fiestiandani (Airlangga University), Erna Setijaningrum (0000-0001-9163-4559, Airlangga University, corresponding author), Eko Supeno (Airlangga University), Suhaimi Abd Samad (0000-0002-7809-1462, Universiti Teknologi MARA), Suhaimi Samad (FSPPP, Universiti Teknologi MARA) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-12-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cogent Social Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2331-1886 • E-ISSN: 2331-1886 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/23311886.2026.2624790 |
| OpenAlex | W7128922811 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 29 |
Notwithstanding that digital transformation has been mandated at local government levels in developing nations, too little is understood about how policy capacity shapes implementation outcomes in rural contexts, undermining policy effectiveness. This qualitative study examines how policy capacity – encompassing institutional, operational, and social dimensions – shapes the implementation of mandated e-governance in rural Indonesian village administration. Drawing on 23 semi-structured interviews with government officials and citizens across five high-performing villages in Banyuwangi Regency, East Java, this paper contextualises current debates with the lived experiences of those mediating digital transformation. Our analysis brings out how policy capacity manifests through three interconnected dimensions: institutional frameworks, implementation approaches, and social integration mechanisms. The findings make clear a multidimensional understanding where institutional resilience, implementation adaptability, and social embeddedness reciprocally determine villages’ ability to sustainably transform public service delivery. We challenge prevailing orthodoxies that privilege technocratic solutions, arguing instead how sustainable e-governance grows from blending institutional stability, adaptive implementation, and authentic community participation
Digital divide · Embeddedness · Politics · Public policy · Public service · Service delivery framework · Sustainability · Technocracy · E-Government and Public Services · Smart Cities and Technologies · Social Media and Politics
Smart villages, rural development and community vulnerability in Indonesia
Digital technology and smart village development in Banyuwangi, Indonesia
Digital economy in Southeast Asia
Policy capacity
Negotiating Tensions in Developing Organizational Policy Capacity
E-government success factors
Agile innovation management in government
ICT, public values and transformative government
Adaptive governance
Critical constraints on high performance of provincial E-governments in China
E-Government in developing countries
New Public Management Is Dead--Long Live Digital-Era Governance
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |