Adaptive Bureaucratic Capacity in Responding to Digital Governance Challenges A Public Administration Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55927/fjss.v5i3.14Keywords:
Adaptive Bureaucratic Capacity, Digital Governance, Public Administration, Organizational Adaptation, Public Service ReformAbstract
Digital governance requires public bureaucracies to develop adaptive capacities in responding to technological change, service complexity, and increasing public expectations. This study aims to analyze bureaucratic adaptability in strengthening digital governance at Tegalrejo Subdistrict, Yogyakarta. A qualitative case-study approach was employed involving 12 informants consisting of structural officials, administrative staff, information-system operators, and digital public-service users. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation, and document analysis and examined using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that adaptive capacity is supported by leadership commitment, employee digital competence, organizational learning, and interunit coordination, while limited infrastructure, fragmented systems, and resistance to change remain major constraints. The study concludes that strengthening adaptive bureaucratic capacity improves institutional responsiveness and provides a practical framework for sustainable digital public-service reform
References
Adie, B. U., Tate, M., & Valentine, E. (2024). Digital leadership in the public sector: A scoping review and outlook. International Review of Public Administration, 29(1), 42–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/12294659.2024.2323847
Afzal, M., & Panagiotopoulos, P. (2024). Coping with digital transformation in frontline public services: A study of user adaptation in policing. Government Information Quarterly, 41(4), Article 101977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2024.101977
Ahn, M. J., & Chen, Y. C. (2022). Digital transformation toward artificial intelligence-augmented public administration: The perception of government employees and the willingness to use artificial intelligence in government. Government Information Quarterly, 39(2), Article 101664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2021.101664
AlNuaimi, B. K., Singh, S. K., Ren, S., Budhwar, P., & Vorobyev, D. (2022). Mastering digital transformation: The nexus between leadership, agility, and digital strategy. Journal of Business Research, 145, 636–648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.038
Andrews, P., de Sousa, T., Haefele, B., Beard, M., Wigan, M., Palia, A., Reid, K., Narayan, S., Dumitru, M., Morrison, A., Mason, G., & Jacquet, A. (2022). A trust framework for government use of artificial intelligence and automated decision making. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2208.10087
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in reflexive thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), 328–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238
Busetto, L., Wick, W., & Gumbinger, C. (2020). How to use and assess qualitative research methods. Neurological Research and Practice, 2, Article 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42466-020-00059-z
Ciancarini, P., Giancarlo, R., & Grimaudo, G. (2023). Digital transformation in the public administrations: A guided tour for computer scientists. IEEE Access, 11, 54143–54154. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3276599
Crusoe, J., Magnusson, J., & Eklund, J. (2024). Digital transformation decoupling: The impact of willful ignorance on public sector digital transformation. Government Information Quarterly, 41(4), Article 101958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2024.101958
Desai, A. (2024). Digital transformation and public administration: The impacts of India’s digital public infrastructure. International Journal of Public Administration, 47(9), 575–576. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2024.2350762
Febiri, F., Gariba, M. I., Hub, M., & Provaznikova, R. (2024). The synergy between human factors, public digitalization and public administration in the European context. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 10(4), Article 100424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joitmc.2024.100424
Gasco-Hernandez, M., Nasi, G., Cucciniello, M., & Hiedemann, A. M. (2022). The role of organizational capacity to foster digital transformation in local governments: The case of three European smart cities. Urban Governance, 2(2), 236–246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ugj.2022.09.005
Gong, Y., Yang, J., & Shi, X. (2020). Towards a comprehensive understanding of digital transformation in government: Analysis of flexibility and enterprise architecture. Government Information Quarterly, 37(3), Article 101487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2020.101487
Haug, N., Dan, S., & Mergel, I. (2024). Digitally-induced change in the public sector: A systematic review and research agenda. Public Management Review, 26(7), 1963–1987. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2023.2234917
Hennink, M., & Kaiser, B. N. (2022). Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests. Social Science & Medicine, 292, Article 114523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114523
Kiger, M. E., & Varpio, L. (2020). Thematic analysis of qualitative data: Association for Medical Education in Europe guide number 131. Medical Teacher, 42(8), 846–854. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030
Kim, S., Fan, B., Yang, W. Y., Ramey, J., Fox, S. E., Zhu, H., Zimmerman, J., & Eslami, M. (2024). Public technologies transforming work of the public and the public sector. In Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction for Work. Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3663384.3663407
Kuhlmann, S., & Heuberger, M. (2023). Digital transformation going local: Implementation, impacts and constraints from a German perspective. Public Money & Management, 43(2), 147–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2021.1939584
Lips, M., & Eppel, E. (2022). Understanding public service provision using digital technologies during COVID-19 lockdowns in New Zealand through a complexity theory lens. Global Public Policy and Governance, 2(4), 498–517. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43508-022-00057-8
Mesa, D. (2023). Digital divide, e-government and trust in public service: The key role of education. Frontiers in Sociology, 8, Article 1140416. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1140416
Mikalef, P., Lemmer, K., Schaefer, C., Ylinen, M., Fjørtoft, S. O., Torvatn, H. Y., Gupta, M., & Niehaves, B. (2023). Examining how artificial intelligence capabilities can foster organizational performance in public organizations. Government Information Quarterly, 40(2), Article 101797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2022.101797
Moser-Plautz, B., & Schmidthuber, L. (2023). Digital government transformation as an organizational response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Government Information Quarterly, 40(3), Article 101815. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2023.101815
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2024). 2023 OECD digital government index: Results and key findings (OECD Public Governance Policy Papers No. 44). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/1a89ed5e-en
Pittaway, J. J., & Montazemi, A. R. (2020). Know-how to lead digital transformation: The case of local governments. Government Information Quarterly, 37(4), Article 101474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2020.101474
Sandoval-Almazan, R., Millan-Vargas, A. O., & Garcia-Contreras, R. (2024). Examining public managers’ competencies of artificial intelligence implementation in local government: A quantitative study. Government Information Quarterly, 41(4), Article 101986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2024.101986
Sanina, A. (2024). City managers as digital transformation leaders: Exploratory and explanatory notes. Public Performance & Management Review, 47(4), 927–958. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2024.2302059
Scupola, A., & Mergel, I. (2022). Co-production in digital transformation of public administration and public value creation: The case of Denmark. Government Information Quarterly, 39(1), Article 101650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2021.101650
Susanti, G., Iva, M. I. N., & Iskandar, D. (2023). Adaptive capacity as a form of bureaucratic reform in enhancing tax services. Jurnal Manajemen Pelayanan Publik, 7(2), 470–483. https://doi.org/10.24198/jmpp.v7i2.50386
Tangi, L., Janssen, M., Benedetti, M., & Noci, G. (2021). Digital government transformation: A structural equation modelling analysis of driving and impeding factors. International Journal of Information Management, 60, Article 102356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2021.102356
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2024). United Nations e-government survey 2024: Accelerating digital transformation for sustainable development. United Nations.
World Bank. (2022). GovTech maturity index, 2022 update: Trends in public sector digital transformation. World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/38499
