The Knowledge Structure of Public Service Policy in the Era of Digital Governance

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_96How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Digital governance; Public service policy; Bibliometric analysis; Thematic analysis; Knowledge structure

Abstract

This study aims to comprehensively map the evolving knowledge structure of public service policy within the era of digital governance using a combination of bibliometric and thematic analysis. The digital transformation of public administration has redefined how governments design, deliver, and evaluate public services, while also reshaping institutional legitimacy and citizen trust. This research analyzed 215 peer-reviewed publications indexed in Scopus between 2013 and 2025 using VOSviewer (version 1.6.20) to identify keyword co-occurrence patterns, thematic clusters, and longitudinal research trends in the global discourse on digital governance. The bibliometric visualization reveals three dominant clusters that form the conceptual foundation of this emerging knowledge field: Policy and Administrative Reform, Digital Transformation and Service Innovation, and Governance, Accountability, and Trust. These clusters are highly interconnected, indicating that digital governance has moved beyond a purely technological agenda toward a multidimensional system that integrates innovation, institutional ethics, and participatory policymaking. The analysis highlights a paradigm shift from efficiency-oriented e-government practices to a more inclusive and citizen-centered digital governance model. This shift emphasizes transparency, co-creation of public value, and digital inclusivity as the central principles of modern policy reform. Consequently, public service policy in the digital era should not merely be regarded as a tool for administrative efficiency, but as a transformative mechanism that enhances accountability, builds public trust, and strengthens democratic institutions. The findings contribute theoretically to understanding the evolution of digital governance knowledge and provide a conceptual framework for developing adaptive, ethical, and socially responsive public service policies capable of addressing the challenges of digital transformation.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Isvan Qadar Djahrir
AU  - Rasyid Thaha
AU  - Indar Arifin
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/13
TI  - The Knowledge Structure of Public Service Policy in the Era of Digital Governance
BT  - Proceedings of the World Conference on Governance and Social Sciences 2025 (WCGSS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1441
EP  - 1464
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_96
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-545-4_96
ID  - Djahrir2026
ER  -