The Effect of Collaborative Governance on Si Ajaib Application Effectiveness: The Mediating Role of Trust Building

Background: Digital transformation in government services through e-government implementation has become a strategic approach to improving public service quality. The Investment and One-Stop Integrated Service Office (DPMPTSP) of Buleleng Regency developed the SI AJAIB Application as a digital-based licensing service system. Despite increasing adoption, the application’s effectiveness still faces challenges, including limited feature utilization, service speed, and accessibility. This indicates that the success of digital innovation implementation is not determined solely by technological factors but also by the quality of collaborative governance and the level of trust among stakeholders. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the effect of collaborative governance on the effectiveness of the SI AJAIB Application, with trust building as a mediating variable. Research Object and Objectives: The research object consists of 171 service users of the SI AJAIB Application. The study’s objective is to examine how collaborative governance influences the application’s effectiveness and to determine the mediating role of trust building in enhancing this relationship. Methods: This study employs a quantitative approach with a causal-associative research design. Data were collected using a Likert-scale questionnaire distributed to the 171 service users. The analysis was conducted using SEM-PLS (Structural Equation Modeling – Partial Least Squares) to test the relationships between collaborative governance, trust, and application effectiveness. The process included validity and reliability testing, structural model evaluation, and hypothesis testing using the bootstrapping technique. Results: The findings indicate that collaborative governance has a positive and significant effect on the effectiveness of the SI AJAIB Application. Additionally, trust building plays a mediating role, strengthening the relationship between collaborative governance and system effectiveness. Higher levels of stakeholder collaboration, reflected through communication, participation, and facilitative leadership, lead to increased trust, which in turn enhances the effectiveness of the application in public service delivery. Conclusion: The study concludes that the effectiveness of the SI AJAIB Application is influenced not only by the quality of the information system but also by collaborative governance and stakeholder trust. Trust building is a key element bridging collaborative governance and successful e-government implementation. Strengthening cross-sector collaboration and fostering public trust should be prioritized as strategic measures to improve the quality of regional digital government services.