Digitalisation of public services in Makassar City: Impacts on decision-making effectiveness and efficiency

Abstract

Digitalisation of public services has the potential to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of decision-making processes. The present study employs an explanatory sequential design to assess the aforementioned effects in Makassar City, utilising a survey of 300 government employees and in-depth interviews with 10 key informants. The findings of this study indicate that digitalisation exerts a positive influence on the quality of decision-making processes (β=0.68, p<0.01). Furthermore, the results suggest that enhanced information transparency (β=0.55, p<0.05) and employee participation (β=0.62, p<0.05) serve to further bolster evidence-based decision-making practices. The model accounts for 86.4% of the variance in decision efficiency and effectiveness (R²=0.864) through enhanced decision quality, with a substantial indirect effect of digitalization (β=0.72, p<0.01). Descriptively, the average decision processing time decreased from approximately five to seven days to one to two days, and 62% of respondents reported greater transparency regarding access to information following digitalisation. The persistent challenges confronting the region include digital literacy gaps, uneven infrastructure, and bureaucratic resistance. The study recommends a number of measures to ensure the continued provision of digital governance in Makassar City that is both inclusive and data-driven. These include ongoing digital literacy training, infrastructure upgrades, policy harmonisation, and strengthened cybersecurity.