Determinants of Overall Public Trust in Local Government: Meditation of Government Response to COVID-19 in Indonesian Context

Residents’ trust in local government councils in an emerging nation: effect of political efficacy, good governance and performance

Purpose

This study aims to explore residents’ trust in local government councils and to examine the effect of political efficacy and good governance on that trust and on the performance of local government councils in an emerging nation.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were analysed using qualitative and quantitative research designs. Firstly, a thematic analysis was performed to explore residents’ trust in local government councils and compare it with the data gathered in the literature review. Thereafter, a partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was used to investigate the hypothesised linkages.

Findings

The thematic analysis of the face-to-face semi-structured interviews discovered four themes (trust, performance, political efficacy and good governance). Additional analysis of these themes via the PLS-SEM approach revealed good governance to be the most influential factor in promoting residents’ trust in local government councils. Political efficacy was the second most influential factor. Residents expect local government councils’ officers to demonstrate a strong commitment to the rule of law and comply with all relevant laws and regulations.

Practical implications

Local government councils should openly accept residents’ requests and suggestions, be more flexible in policy delivery and be responsive to policy demands given the relatively small constituencies and greater policy latitudes. Multiple avenues should be available for interaction between residents and local government councils in the mission to achieve sustainable urban growth.

Originality/value

This study is unique in that it advances existing research that is lacking in the context of the Malaysian local government council. The result alerts are crucial in that they alert local government councils to the need for high levels of governance and accountability in terms of resident support to gain more trust and confidence.

The Willingness to get Vaccinated Against SARS-CoV-2 Virus among Southeast Asian Countries: Does the Vaccine Brand Matter?

The current study uses data surveyed with 2,500 respondents during August and September 2021 in Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia to examine the willingness to get vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 virus with six COVID-19 vaccines. The willingness to get vaccinated varies according to the vaccine brands and selected influential factors. Particularly, the percentage of respondents who are willing to get vaccinated with Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca dominates that of those who are willing to get vaccinated with Sinopharm, Janssen and Sputnik V vaccines. Results generated from the binary logistic regressions show that the impact of the selected influential factors on the willingness to get vaccinated varies in terms of magnitude and direction, and depending on the vaccine brands. The results indicate that additional scientific evidence on the efficacy and safety of the vaccines is essential for the respondents to decide whether to vaccinate or not. Such evidence can be made available in multiple formats and provided through appropriate channels and vaccination communication campaigns.

The role of government risk communication in public health emergencies: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose

During the COVID-19 pandemic, government risk communication to the public was among the critical works, as the governments had to fight two enemies at once: the pandemic itself and the infodemic surrounding the COVID-19. Government risk communication could provide the public with prompt and accurate information as well as eliminate fake news, rumors and misinformation, thereby raising the public’s knowledge and risk perception and, thus, shaping their compliance with the government’s advices and directives. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of government risk communication through mass media on the public’s knowledge, risk perception and compliance with safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

The ordinary least square and probit regression models were used for analyzing data collected from citizens living in Vietnam during the COVID-19 social distancing.

Findings

The results of this paper show that government risk communication enhances the public’s knowledge of the COVID-19 and raises their risk perception of the virus. In addition, government risk communication is found to shape the public’s compliance with most safety measures.

Practical implications

This paper offers practical implications for containing a pandemic (especially in the context that vaccines are unavailable or insufficient) by emphasizing the role of government risk communication.

Originality/value

This paper is among the first attempts that examine the role of government risk communication through mass media in enhancing the public’s knowledge, their risk perception and their compliance with safety measures during a pandemic.

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among ASEAN Countries: Does the Pandemic Severity Really Matter?

The current study uses data surveyed between August and September 2021 in four ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries to identify drivers of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance with different levels of the pandemic severity. It also examines the impact of the drivers on vaccine acceptance. The results show that the number of respondents who accept vaccines significantly dominates that of those who do not. In addition, the number of respondents who get the vaccine if the pandemic becomes more severe dominates that of those if it becomes less severe. Results generated from the logistic regressions show that the impact of the drivers on the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance with different levels of the pandemic severity varies in terms of magnitude and direction. Practical recommendations are made based on the findings.

Covid-19 sentiments in smart cities: The role of technology anxiety before and during the pandemic

The spread of Covid-19 profoundly changed citizens' daily lives due to the introduction of new modes of work and access to services based on smart technologies. Although the relevance of new technologies as strategic levers for crisis resolution has been widely debated before the pandemic, especially in the smart cities' context, how individuals have agreed to include the technological changes dictated by the pandemic in their daily interactions remains an open question. This paper aims at detecting citizens' sentiment toward technology before and after the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic using Fuzzy Formal Concept Analysis (FFCA) to analyze a large corpus of tweets. Specifically, citizens' attitudes in five cities (Berlin, Dublin, London, Milan, and Madrid) were explored to extract and classify the key topics related to the degree of confidence, familiarity and approval of new technologies. The results shed light on the complex technology acceptance process and help managers identify the potential negative effects of smart technologies. In this way, the study enhances scholars' and practitioners' understanding of the strategies for enabling the use of technology within smart cities to manage the transformations introduced by the health emergency and guide citizens’ behaviour.