Ilona Bartuseviciene

Institute of Regional Development, Vilnius University Siauliai Academy. Siauliai, Lithuania

E-mail: ilona.bartuseviciene@sa.vu.lt

ORCID 0000-0001-6260-9370 

The effect of digital governance to stimulate the antifragile capabilities of public sector organizations

Mindaugas Butkus

Institute of Regional Development, Vilnius University Siauliai Academy, Siauliai, Lithuania

E-mail: mindaugas.butkus@sa.vu.lt

ORCID 0000-0003-2381-5440

Abstract. This paper investigates whether and in what way digital governance can contribute to the development of antifragility in public sector organizations. In this study, antifragility is realized as a set of core capabilities that equips organizations with the knowledge and capacity to deal with and capitalize on uncertainty. A survey was conducted through structured interviews with the top managers of 400 organizations to investigate this phenomenon. The subsequent study then employed nonparametric structural equation modeling, indicating the following goodness-of-fit parameters: CMIN/DF – 2.476, TLI – 0.925, CFI – 0.933, and RMSEA – 0.043. The results of this study are significant and reveal that the facilitation of digital governance can be considered an enabler of antifragility development within organizations operating in the public sector. However, the overall effect is not so straightforward. The study's findings lead to a significant outcome, indicating that cybersecurity works as a mediator in the relationship between intangible digital governance components that covary with each other, i.e., leadership, digital services, and capacity building, as well as digital infrastructure and organizational antifragility. These findings highlight the need to align digital governance with strategy and skill development. Furthermore, they emphasize the potential of technological innovation to enhance an organization’s level of antifragile capability when strategically invested.

Received: January, 2024

1st Revision: June, 2024

Accepted: September, 2024

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2024/17-3/3

JEL Classification: D73, D81, O33

Keywords: digital governance, antifragility, public sector, capabilities, effect, structural equation modeling, assessment instruments