The Role of Adaptive Leadership in Improving the Performance of Smart City-Based Public Services

Latip Latip; Dede Mirza; Novelma Lastri; Variza Aditiya; Dwik Hartutik

doi:10.55927/fjst.v4i12.337

Authors

Latip Latip Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Administrasi Lancang Kuning
Dede Mirza Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Administrasi Lancang Kuning
Novelma Lastri Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Administrasi Lancang Kuning
Variza Aditiya Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Administrasi Lancang Kuning
Dwik Hartutik Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Administrasi Lancang Kuning

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55927/fjst.v4i12.337

Keywords:

Adaptive Leadership, Performance, Public Service, Smart City

Abstract

This study examines the role of adaptive leadership in enhancing smart city–based public service performance in Pekanbaru. Using a qualitative case study design with 12 informants, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field observations, and policy document analysis. Thematic analysis reveals that adaptive leadership is crucial in driving innovation, resolving technical challenges, strengthening cross-unit collaboration, and improving the responsiveness and efficiency of digital public services—particularly in online licensing, citizen complaint systems, and command center operations. The study concludes that adaptive leadership is a key determinant of the sustainability of smart city transformation and contributes both theoretically to public administration studies on innovative and collaborative leadership, and practically to strengthening regional digital governance.

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.

Ahvenniemi, H., Huovila, A., Pinto-Seppä, I., & Airaksinen, M. (2022). What are the differences between sustainable and smart cities? Cities, 129, 103793.

Anthopoulos, L. (2020). Smart city governance: A comparative analysis. Government Information Quarterly, 37(3), 101452.

Bibri, S. E. (2021). A novel model for data-driven smart sustainable cities of the future: The institutional transformations required for balancing and advancing the three goals of sustainability. Energy Informatics, 4(1), Article 4.

Bibri, S. E., & Allam, Z. (2021). The future of smart and sustainable cities. Sustainable Cities and Society, 64, 102555.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE Publications.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2022). Thematic analysis: A practical guide (Updated edition). SAGE Publications.

Carter, N., Bryant-Lukosius, D., DiCenso, A., Blythe, J., & Neville, A. (2021). The use of triangulation in qualitative research. Oncology Nursing Forum, 48(1), 89–96.

Chughtai, M. S., Abbas, M., & Zhu, Y. (2023). Role of adaptive leadership in learning organizations to promote organizational innovations. Frontiers in Psychology, 14.

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. (2021). Qualitative inquiry and research design. SAGE Publications.

DuBrin, A. J. (2022). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills. Cengage Learning.

Dwivedi, Y. K., Hughes, L., & Rana, N. P. (2022). Smart governance for smart cities: Institutional collaboration and digital integration. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 180, 121645.

Fortunak, J. M., Kelly, S., & Randhawa, K. (2023). Organizational adaptation challenges during digital transformation: Internal capacity and systemic constraints. Journal of Business Research, 158, 113026.

Guest, G., Namey, E., & Chen, M. (2020). A simple method to assess data saturation in qualitative research. PLoS ONE, 15(5).

Guo, Z., & Chen, L. (2023). Digital transformation in the public sector: The role of human resource readiness and leadership competence. Government Information Quarterly, 40(4), 101742.

Khan, M. A., Rehman, S., & Ullah, R. (2023). Leadership adaptiveness and enhanced responsiveness in e-government services. Information Development, 39(3), 450–462.

Krishnan, S., & Teo, H. H. (2023). Managing smart city complexity: Leadership flexibility and digital ecosystem performance. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 32(2), 101737.

Lai, C. M. T. (2023). Measuring progress of smart cities: Indexing the integrity and quality of smart city indices. Smart Cities Journal.

Levitt, H. M. (2021). Qualitative generalization, transparency, and rigor: Updating the standards for qualitative research. Qualitative Psychology, 8(1), 1–17.

Lin, Y., & Wu, J. (2021). Digital transformation and public sector innovation. Public Management Review, 23(11), 1629–1651.

Lindgren, I., & Jansson, G. (2024). Digital-era governance: How adaptive leadership improves efficiency in public digital services. Information Polity, 29(1), 33–52.

Meijer, A., & Bolívar, M. P. R. (2021). Governing the smart city: A review of literature on smart urban governance. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 87(2), 444–456.

Munro, R., Patel, K., & Sørensen, E. (2024). Inter-organizational collaboration and data integration for smart public services. Public Administration Review, 84(1), 102–118.

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice. SAGE Publications.

Nowell, L. S., Norris, J., White, D., & Moules, N. (2022). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21.

Paes, V. d. C., Pessoa, C. H. M., Pagliusi, R. P., Barbosa, C. E., Argôlo, M., de Lima, Y. O., Salazar, H., Lyra, A., & de Souza, J. M. (2023). Analyzing the challenges for future smart and sustainable cities. Sustainability, 15(10), 7996.

Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2020). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 47, 533–544.

Panori, A., Psycharis, Y., & Ballas, D. (2022). Smart city governance and performance. Cities, 123, 103561.

Pradhan, N., Saha, S., & Tripathi, R. (2024). Digital skill development and public sector capacity-building for sustainable innovation. International Journal of Public Administration, 47(2), 115–130.

Roberts, T. (2022). Adaptive leadership in high-uncertainty digital environments: A framework for responsive decision-making. The Leadership Quarterly, 33(5), 101622.

Santoso, B., & Darmawan, A. (2023). Smart city implementation in Indonesian local governments. Journal of Public Administration Research, 5(2), 112–129.

Tan, S. Y., & Taeihagh, A. (2020). Smart city governance in developing countries: A systematic literature review. arXiv.

Tracy, S. J. (2020). Qualitative research methods. Wiley.

Watkins, M. (2023). The six principles of adaptive leadership. Harvard Business Review Press.