Mapping the Evolution of Public Trust Research in Digital Governance: A Bibliometric Analysis of Scopus Publications (2011-2026)
Riska Sarofah, Fitriyani Yuliawati, Budi Nugraha, Adhy Andriwiguna, Triananda Genedin

Department of Political Sciences, Universitas Siliwangi

Abstract

Public trust has become a fundamental pillar in ensuring the effectiveness and legitimacy of digital governance initiatives. As governments increasingly adopt digital technologies to improve public service delivery, transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement, scholarly interest in trust within digital governance has grown substantially. This study aims to map the intellectual structure, research evolution, and emerging trends of research on public trust in digital governance. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using 290 articles indexed in the Scopus database and published between 2011 and 2026. Biblioshiny and VOSviewer were employed to analyze publication trends, citation patterns, influential sources and countries, collaboration patterns, and thematic developments. The findings demonstrate a substantial increase in scientific production, particularly in the most recent years, indicating growing scholarly attention to public trust in digital governance. Citation analysis indicates that influential research is strongly associated with trust, technology acceptance, digital service adoption, and information systems. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identifies e-government, trust, digital governance, transparency, public trust, public administration, and digital transformation as central themes.These findings indicate that public trust research has evolved from a technology-adoption perspective toward a broader governance perspective. This study contributes by mapping the intellectual development of the field and identifying directions for future research on trust-centered and citizen-oriented digital governance.

Keywords: Public Trust- Digital Governance- E-Government- Digital Government- Transparency- Accountability- Digital Transformation

Topic: Responsible Governance in the Digital Era: Navigating Transparency, Accountability, and Public Trust (E-Governance- Digital Governance- Transparency- Accountability)