The Digital Shock: Administrative Burden and the Governance–Service Trade-Off in Indonesia’s Public Service Reform

This study explores the impact of implementing a mandatory e-government reform within Indonesia’s national ISBN service (Regulation No. 5/2022). It examines the effects of this policy shift on public service quality and the resulting administrative burden placed on stakeholders, specifically publishers. The study employs an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design (QUAN → qual). The first phase analyzes longitudinal quantitative data from annual Public Satisfaction Surveys (2021–2024). The subsequent qualitative phase analyzes thousands of archival records, including complaint logs and policy memos, to contextually explain the quantitative findings. The results indicate that the reform induced a severe digital shock, causing the Public Satisfaction Index (IKM) to plummet from Good in 2021 to Poor (75.03) in 2022. The most significant declines were observed in the Procedures (2.79/4) and Service Time (2.30/4) indicators. Qualitative analysis reveals that this collapse was driven by specific policy-induced frictions: the mandatory implementation of a Single Account system and the intentional tightening of governance and validation parameters. While limited in statistical generalizability due to its single-case archival design, this study clearly demonstrates that public managers must recognize the inherent trade-off between tightening institutional governance (control) and maintaining public service quality (satisfaction). Proactive friction management and user-centric change management are essential to mitigating such digital shocks. Ultimately, this study offers a unique longitudinal analysis that forensically links quantitative satisfaction metrics with qualitative policy frictions.