Institutional Preparedness for Cyberocracy: Digital Capability Transformation in Indonesia's Public Sector

This study examines how institutional preparedness facilitates digital capability transformation toward cyberocracy in Indonesia's regional public sector, focusing on the Dinas Komunikasi dan Informatika (Diskominfo) of South Sumatra Province. A qualitative single-case study was conducted. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 purposively selected informants and a systematic analysis of four national and provincial policy and performance documents. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis; NVivo 12 Pro was used to organise and code the data and to produce query-based visualisations of the document corpus. The findings show that cyberocratic transformation is shaped by the interaction between institutional preparedness (leadership commitment, institutional coordination, regulatory support, and institutional adaptation) and digital capability transformation (digital literacy, data governance, technological infrastructure, information governance, and innovation culture). Bureaucratic fragmentation emerged as the most consequential constraint: sectoral data ownership, siloed systems, and unclear mandates turn data integration into a negotiation over authority rather than a technical task. Unequal digital competencies, infrastructure gaps, and governance risks reinforce this constraint. The study conceptualises cyberocracy as an institutional and political transformation rather than a technological advancement and identifies institutional preparedness as the enabling mechanism that links digital capability development with data-driven governance. It contributes empirical evidence from a regional government in a developing country and offers practical implications for strengthening data authority, inter-agency coordination, and regulatory coherence.