Analyzing the Public Trust in West Java Digital Financial Transparency (Web-based): A SEM-PLS Approach
Keywords:
digital financial transparency, public sector awareness, awareness gap, E-government, TAM, SEM-PLS, West JavaAbstract
Public financial transparency through digital platforms is essential for fostering good governance and democratic accountability. Although local governments have increasingly deployed digital reporting systems, a significant gap remains between technological availability and public awareness and engagement. This study analyzes the effect of the completeness of the information presented on government financial websites on public trust in digital financial transparency within the Regional Government of West Java, Indonesia. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a theoretical framework, this research examines how the completeness of disclosed financial information influences public trust in and engagement with government financial portals. Data were collected through a quantitative survey administered to 45 citizens in West Java. Descriptive analysis reveals a critical awareness gap: 68.89% of respondents have never accessed the regional public financial portals. The structural relationship between information completeness and public trust was tested using Structural Equation Modeling based on Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) executed in SmartPLS. The measurement model satisfies all reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity criteria, while the structural model demonstrates that the completeness of information presented on government websites has a positive and significant effect on public trust (β = 0.840; t = 22.288; p < 0.000), so that the first hypothesis is accepted. The model explains 70.6% of the variance in public trust (R² = 0.706), which falls within the substantial category. The findings offer actionable policy recommendations for public administrators to shift from passive data publishing to complete, citizen-centric digital disclosure, thereby enhancing public trust and civic participation.
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