When Trust Coexists with Mistrust: An Ethnographic Account of the Consequences of Digitalization Project

Recently, local governments utilize digital technology to improve transparency and achieve public trust. Drawing from the e-retribusi project, a digitalization enabling small-scale merchants to pay their levies in a cashless manner, this study investigates how the digitalization project shapes trust (and mistrust) between actors. My ethnographic fieldwork in Kebon Polo traditional market, Magelang City, Indonesia, reveals dual trust-building realities. Civil servants and auditors perceived greater trust, while small-scale merchants encountered diminished trust. This finding suggests the importance of transparency for all actors and critically reflects the exaggerated expectation of digitalization in enhancing transparency and public trust.