GovTech Maturity, Budget Transparency and Institutional Trust: A Cross-Country Analysis

Bekarshyn Zhumanova, GRIGOR NAZARYAN, Aibek Imashev, Vladyslav Kutsenko, Victor Chentsov, Albina Kuzmenko, Karina Kozynets

2026

Full text Open access: Gold Metadata (CSL-JSON)
DOI 10.61093/bel.10(2).73-93.2026
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Digital public administration is increasingly important for ethical governance because it can strengthen transparency, accountability, and trust in public institutions. Previous studies have usually examined digital government maturity, budget transparency, and institutional trust as separate dimensions of public governance, while insufficient attention has been paid to their cross-country interaction from the perspective of business ethics, responsible public leadership, and accountability-oriented digital transformation. The aim of this study is to examine whether countries with more mature GovTech ecosystems demonstrate higher levels of budget transparency and stronger trust-related institutional outcomes, with particular attention to the role of digital public administration in strengthening accountability, integrity, and ethical governance. The empirical analysis is based on a cross-country dataset of 111 countries for 2022 and applies descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, ordinary least squares regression, and diagnostic testing using the GovTech Maturity Index, the Open Budget Index transparency score, and the Corruption Perceptions Index. The descriptive statistics show substantial cross-country variation: the mean GovTech Maturity Index equals 0.594, the mean Open Budget Index transparency score is 45.748, and the mean Corruption Perceptions Index equals 39.180. The correlation analysis confirms statistically significant positive relationships between GovTech maturity and budget transparency (r = 0.575, p < 0.001), GovTech maturity and institutional trust (r = 0.530, p < 0.001), and budget transparency and institutional trust (r = 0.517, p < 0.001). Regression results show that GovTech maturity explains 33.1% of cross-country variation in budget transparency, with a positive coefficient of 57.491 and an F-statistic of 53.84. GovTech maturity also explains 28.1% of variation in trust-related institutional outcomes, with a positive coefficient of 36.250 and an F-statistic of 42.57, confirming that digital government capacity is more directly connected with fiscal openness than with institutional trust. The findings open further perspectives for business ethics, public-sector leadership, and responsible digital governance by showing that GovTech maturity should be studied not only as a technological capacity indicator but also as a measurable institutional mechanism for strengthening transparency, accountability, integrity, and trust-oriented public administration.