Digital transformation and flexibility in public services: Knowledge, culture and digital infrastructures

Governments in the Global South face ongoing challenges in digital modernization, ranging from weak technological infrastructure to entrenched bureaucratic cultures. This study draws on the Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV) and Contingency Theory to examine how digital transformation (DT) enhances flexibility in public service delivery when supported by organizational culture (OC) and technological infrastructure (TIF). Using the Cambodian public sector as a case study, survey data from 299 public officials were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA). The results show that DT improves flexibility in public services both directly and indirectly through OC and TIF, demonstrating that these factors are not merely contextual conditions but critical enablers of adaptive capacity. Importantly, NCA reveals that specific threshold levels of DT (≥2.59), OC (≥2.82–4.00), and TIF (≥3.37) constitute non-compensatory prerequisites for developing flexibility in public services. These findings extend the DCV by demonstrating that public-sector agility depends on the coordinated development of cultural and technological capabilities, and they refine Contingency Theory by highlighting that digital reform outcomes depend on the strategic alignment of institutional conditions. For policymakers, this study highlights the importance of simultaneous and coordinated investment in digital literacy, technological infrastructure, and cultural change to ensure that digital transformation initiatives lead to sustained improvements in public service responsiveness.