Smart villages, rural development and community vulnerability in Indonesia: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Rural areas are significantly affected by spatial vulnerability, the digital divide, depopulation, and population aging. Marginalized populations seek collective well-being, social inclusion, and local development in smart villages, an area of interest that is increasingly important for scholars and practitioners, as well as rural areas and communities. This article explores global trends in conceptual approaches and smart village planning and identifies whether these trends are in line with smart interventions implemented in Indonesia. To achieve this goal, this research utilizes various existing literature through bibliometric analysis by obtaining data from the Scopus database. This study was built based on bibliometric analysis, this study focuses on identifying the application of the smart village concept that is implemented in local village development in rural Indonesia. The results show that innovation, knowledge, growth, and management seem to have an impact on smart rural planning in Indonesia, while the smart village model which only utilizes information systems and technology shows its limitations so it is necessary to also focus on elements of smart government, smart environment, and smart community. This study shows that there are differences in the goals of smart village development when compared to smart cities and enriches the exploration of smart village theory that can be implemented in various villages in particular. Therefore it is suggested to increase the awareness and active involvement of local stakeholders in Indonesia.

Keywords:

• rural development
• smart villages, community vulnerability
• rural resilience, Indonesia

1. Introduction

Based on data from the Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS), on March 2020, as many as 26.42 million people in Indonesia still live below the poverty line In September 2022 the poverty rate in Indonesia was recorded at 9.57% or as many as 26.36 million people were below the poverty line. The high level of poverty in Indonesia has resulted in an increase in the unemployment rate, many cases of dropping out of school, and the emergence of various health problems in society (Erlyn et al., 2022; Sparrow et al., 2020). Poverty alleviation in Indonesia faces significant challenges with high poverty rates in rural areas, Indonesia (Agustina & Yahya, 2022; Statistics Indonesia, 2022). Rural areas have become the largest contributor to the number of poor people in Indonesia (Agustina & Yahya, 2022; Harini et al., 2022; Statistics Indonesia, 2018) thus creating a high level of vulnerability in rural areas in Indonesia. Spatially, the poverty rate as of September 2022 rose slightly both in urban and rural areas. The poverty rate in urban areas rose to 7.53% (March 2022: 7.5%). The percentage of poor people in rural areas also increased to 12.36% (March 2022: 12.29%) (Statistics Indonesia, 2022). The proportion of poor people in Indonesia ranks fourth in ASEAN with a percentage of 1.8% after Timor Leste, Laos, the Philippines, then Indonesia (Jayani, 2021). This shows that Indonesia still has a high proportion of poor people in Southeast Asia (Jayani, 2021).

The centralization of development in urban areas in Indonesia has contributed to the emergence of regional developmental disparities with regard to local social and economic development and the continuation of the rural exodus (Padawangi, 2022; Wijaya & Ishihara, 2018; Zamjani & Zamjani, 2022). Therefore, it is important to consider the determinants of achieving sustainability, resilience and attractiveness in rural areas in Indonesia, so this research intends to become insights and literature on encouraging national development through smart villages in Indonesia. This is in accordance with the objectives of Law No. 6 of 2014 concerning villages and the Indonesian government’s Village Master Plan Document which encourages the importance of national development through rural development (Plan Desa, 2021). In 2022, Indonesia will have 6,239 (8.43%) Independent Villages, 20248 (27.34%) Developed Villages, 33892 (45.77%) Developing Villages, 9,234 (12.47%) Underdeveloped Villages, and 4,438 (5 .99%) %) Very Underdeveloped Villages (Kemendesa, 2023; Plan Desa, 2021). The data shows that village development in Indonesia is still uneven and there are still many low village developments. This shows that there is still a need for equitable development in various villages in Indonesia. Figure 1 shows the actual condition of the countryside in terms of transforming smart villages in Indonesia.

Figure 1. Status of rural development in Indonesia 2020–2022.

Source: Processed from the Ministry of Village (Kemendesa, 2023), 2023.

Based on the data above, shows that Indonesia still needs to encourage the development of smart villages in overcoming the problem of vulnerability and developmental gaps in various regions in Indonesia. Apart from that, there are still a large number of villages that are lagging behind and very underdeveloped villages in the last three years which are problems that need to be resolved by the government in Indonesia, these numbers show that there is still a high level of vulnerability that requires handling in various regions in Indonesia. Insights regarding rural development through smart villages to overcome these vulnerabilities/development issues are intended to create sustainable community welfare and prosperity (Adamowicz & Zwolińska-Ligaj, 2020; Liu et al., 2020). Some literature such as Liu et al. (2020), Augustyn (1998), Adamowicz and Zwolińska-Ligaj (2020), and Ella and Andari (2018) mentions that villages are different from cities which are considered more advanced and developed. Therefore, there are bigger problems in the village. From higher poverty, lower health, low public consumption, low human resources, facilities, and infrastructure which tend to be more limited than cities and low levels of education (Adamowicz & Zwolińska-Ligaj, 2020; Augustyn, 1998).

The emergence of smart villages as a tool to support the resilience of underdeveloped regions in Indonesia is an innovative approach and has recently been developed (Kelvin et al., 2022; McIntyre-Mills et al., 2019; Slee, 2019). The innovative approach in smart villages is expected to be able to overcome problems in village development which are generally only focused on one aspect, and are unable to overcome the complexity of the problems that exist in the village, so currently village development is directed through smart village development (Anastasiou et al., 2021; Zavratnik et al., 2018). Smart spaces serve many purposes; depending on local needs, with a focus on improving living conditions (through better access to infrastructure and services) and living standards of the population, strengthening local entrepreneurship (productivity development), and attracting investment (Anastasiou et al., 2021; Gorain, 2022). The problem of the COVID-19 Pandemic several years ago, has also brought the smart village issue to the forefront because of its contribution to creating more resilient communities and structures (Doyle et al., 2021; E. T. Tosida et al., 2022; Kelvin et al., 2022). In urban areas, it shows that COVID-19 affects urban planning micro-actions, and so that lead to development that is more compact, more inclusive, and more technology-based (E. T. Tosida et al., 2022; Graziano, 2021). Therefore, the smart village development approach in this study is to identify appropriate solutions to support sustainable national development and overcome the problems of rural community vulnerability and regional development disparities and promote resilience in fragile areas. So that in meeting social vulnerability and the main economic needs of villagers in overcoming vulnerability, and creating sustainability is a development goal (McIntyre-Mills et al., 2019; Saputra et al., 2022; Zhang & Zhang, 2020). Recognizing that a smart village is a very innovative tool to strengthen sustainable development and rural resilience in remote and underdeveloped areas. The main aims of this research are twofold: (i) to explore the sociodemographic and spatial profile of rural Indonesia and examine the many suggested smart recommendations from various studies; and (ii) to identify global trends in smart village planning and addressing vulnerability (Anastasiou et al., 2021; Andari & Ella, 2022).

In line with the development of smart cities in Indonesia, in a smaller context, namely smart villages in Indonesia, the concept of information technology-based villages has begun to be implemented in various regions in Indonesia, although they have some fundamental differences such as regional administration, financial support, and community characteristics (Abdillah et al., 2022; Ella & Andari, 2018; Herdiana, 2019; Kelvin et al., 2022; Widianingsih et al., 2023). Smart villages in Indonesia aim to achieve an improved quality of life, efficiency, and competitiveness in economic, social, and environmental aspects (Abdillah et al., 2022; Herdiana, 2019; Kelvin et al., 2022). Several villages have been declared as smart villages in Indonesia, namely: Pondok Ranji Village in South Tangerang which was declared the first smart village in Indonesia by the Ministry of Villages for successfully developing non-formal education pursuing packages A, B and C. Cibuntu Village, Cirebon City, declared a smart village because it succeeded in encouraging the creation of turning pots to strengthen cellular signals so that internet access became more widespread. Geluran Taman Village, Sidoarjo Regency, was declared a smart village because of its efforts to encourage the informal use of English for its people. Pacing Village, Klaten Regency, was declared a smart village because it succeeded in building a mosque with an eco-architectural concept (Ayu, 2018; Herdiana, 2019; Nasaruddin, 2017). According to Andari and Ella (2022) A smart village is more defined as an innovative village that utilizes information and communication technology (ICT) and other technologies to improve the quality of life of all villagers, streamline village services and management, increase its competitiveness while guarantee the fulfillment of the needs of the present and future generations related to economic, social, environmental and cultural aspects.

The development of innovation in an area depends on the local social, economic, and political dynamics (Deng et al., 2022; Raven et al., 2016; Vercher et al., 2022) so that the contribution of stakeholders local in directing development in the area is very important. The challenge lies in the awareness and perspective of the actors to pursue change, usually motivated by potential socio-economic benefits (Derkenbaeva et al., 2022; Vercher et al., 2022). The fact is that very often there are differences between goals and final actions in rural development (Sisto et al., 2022; Vercher et al., 2022), so every contribution to stakeholders is very important in rural development in facing the vulnerability of rural communities.

Thus, this study contributes as an insight into village innovative development in the Indonesian context and shows trends, scales, and research clusters that have developed from previous research. This insight can be considered a strategic step for stakeholders emerging from modern smart villages in promoting national development in overcoming development vulnerabilities and gaps in various regions in Indonesia.

This research consists of three parts. The first is a brief review of the theoretical literature on Smart City and Smart Village development in Indonesia. The second section presents a methodological approach; namely a bibliometric analysis that describes the trend of smart village implementation in Indonesia. Finally, the last section discusses the implementation of smart villages in rural development to address the problem of community vulnerability in Indonesia.

2. Methods

2.1. Ethics statement

Neither approval by the institutional review board nor obtainment of the informed consent was required since this was a literature-based study.

3. Study design

The main aim of this article is to explore global trends in conceptual approaches and smart village planning, and identify whether these trends are in line with the smart interventions implemented in Indonesia. More specifically, this study highlights the term smart village by using bibliometric methods and analysis. The chosen method provides quantification and impact assessment of a particular topic and is adopted as the main bibliometric analysis method that specifically focuses on mapping and evaluating science (Adriyanti et al., 2018; Pessin et al., 2022; Widianingsih et al., 2021). Bibliometric analysis, developed from approaches based on traditional literature reviews (Cooper, 1988) and systematic literature reviews (Taylor, 2012), includes statistical analysis of published articles and the citations therein to measure their impact (Gan et al., 2022). A search was performed which led to a collection of 298 journal articles initially which were then reduced to 27 journal articles (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Bibliometric analysis study stages.

Source: Processed by the authors, 2023.

The main tool of analysis in this study is bibliometric mapping (utilizing the Vosviewer Application) (Gan et al., 2022; Pessin et al., 2022). Vosviewer as described in detail by Van Eck and Waltman (2010) presents many interesting results when applied to the social sciences. To describe the existing literature, the Scopus database is used. The period from 2001 to 2022 was chosen as the reference period, because it was considered the right period to provide the most contemporary approach to the topic under study ((TITLE-ABS-KEY (smart AND village) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (rural AND development)). The search strategy covers the main topics of smart villages and rural development issues, using similar but uncommon terms. The search results are selected based on suitability, proximity, and relevance to the research topic. Below are presented the results of searching research document data retrieved through the Scopus database (See Table 1).

Table 1. Document search results through the Scopus database

No	Document title	Authors	Year	Source	Cited by
1	Developing a Smart Village Model for Village Development in Indonesia	Ella, S., Andari, R.N.	2018	Proceeding − 2018 International Conference on ICT for Smart Society: Innovation Toward Smart Society and Society 5.0, ICISS 2018	16
2	The potential for implementing a big data analytic-based smart village in Indonesia	Tosida, E.T., Herdiyeni, Y., Suprehatin, S., Marimin	2020	2020 International Conference on Computer Science and Its Application in Agriculture, ICOSICA 2020	7
3	Solid Waste Management Models: Literature Review	Adriyanti, N.P., Gamal, A., Dewi, O.C.	2018	2nd International Conference on Smart Grid and Smart Cities, ICSGSC 2018	7
4	Smart village geographic information system (GIS) development in Indonesia and its analogous approaches	Adi, S., Suhartono, J., Janawir	2018	Proceedings of 2017 International Conference on Information Management and Technology, ICIMTech 2017	6
5	Smart geo-energy village development by using cascade direct use of geothermal energy in Bonjol, West Sumatera	Prasetya, N., Umra Lubis, D.E., Raharjo, D., Saptadji, N.M., Pratama, H.B.	2018	IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science	6
6	Green finance and sustainability development goals in Indonesian Fund Village	Ronaldo, R., Suryanto, T.	2022	Resources Policy	4
7	Designing Smart Village Application for Ecotourism Marketplace with a Human Centered Approach	Kurniawan, D.T., Nur Hidayat, W., Prasasti, A., Nur Rakhmad, A.A.	2020	4th International Conference on Vocational Education and Training, ICOVET 2020	4
8	Clustering of Citizen Science Prospect to Construct Big Data-based Smart Village in Indonesia	Tosida, E.T., Suprehatin, S., Herdiyeni, Y., Marimin, Solihin, I.P.	2020	Proceedings − 2nd International Conference on Informatics, Multimedia, Cyber, and Information System, ICIMCIS 2020	3
9	Village Business Intelligence (BI) Design to Support Social Welfare Intervention Programs by Using GIS Approach	Adi, S., Heripracoyo, S.	2018	Proceedings of 2018 International Conference on Information Management and Technology, ICIMTech 2018	3
10	Digitalization Methods from Scratch Nature towards Smart Tourism Village; Lessons from Tanjung Bunga Samosir, Indonesia	Pranita, D., Kesa, D.D., Marsdenia	2021	Journal of Physics: Conference Series	2
11	Digital Talent Management Model for Smart Village in Indonesia	Andari, R.N., Ella, S.	2021	Proceeding − 2021 2nd International Conference on ICT for Rural Development, IC-ICTRuDev 2021	2
12	Sustainable hr development to support successful implementation of offline accounting apps by rural enterprises in Indonesia	Muda, I., Erlina, E.	2020	Journal of International Studies	2
13	Utilization of ICT in Building a Smart Village Model for Village Development in Indonesia	Ella, S., Andari, R.N.	2019	Proceeding − 2019 International Conference on ICT for Smart Society: Innovation and Transformation Toward Smart Region, ICISS 2019	2
14	Electrifying Fishing for Rural Electrification	Ehnberg, J., Hartvigsson, E., Monrad-Aas, I.	2021	2021 IEEE Southern Power Electronics Conference, SPEC 2021	1
15	Determinism Technology in Smart Village: Structuration and Construction Socio- Techno in Osing Culture, Banyuwangi Indonesia	Yuniar, A.D., Hasanah, F.	2021	Proceeding − 2021 2nd International Conference on ICT for Rural Development, IC-ICTRuDev 2021	1
16	Measuring The ICT Development of Rurals in Banyuwangi, Indonesia	Mazya, T.M., Kolopaking, L.M.	2021	Proceeding − 2021 2nd International Conference on ICT for Rural Development, IC-ICTRuDev 2021	1
17	Sustainability index of the seaweed farmers household economy in Serewe Bay, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia	Zamroni, A., Apriliani, T., Rosyidah, L., Muliawan, I., Hatanaka, K.	2020	IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science	1
18	Integration Of Geospatial And Citizen Participation Using Geographic Information System For Smart City: A Study Of Priority Villages Program In Jakarta, Indonesia	Anugraha, A.S., Erdiza, H.P., Apriyadi, D., Aguscandra, B.	2022	International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences - ISPRS Archives	0
19	Spatial Analysis of Socio-Economic Vulnerability in COVID-19 Handling: Strategies for the Development of Smart Society and Smart Economy	Wahyuni, A.T., Rachmawati, R., Baiquni, M.	2022	Information (Switzerland)	0
20	Investigating the effect of technology-based village development towards smart economy: An application of variance-based structural equation modeling	Tosida, E.T., Herdiyeni, Y., Marimin, Suprehatin, S.	2022	International Journal of Data and Network Science	0
21	The smart village program challenges in supporting national food security through the implementation of agriculture 4.0	Ilham, A., Munir, A., Ala, A., Sulaiman, A.A.	2022	IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science	0
22	Fostering Nagari’s Performance in West Sumatera in Actualizing Smart Government	Yuskar, Y., Bahari, A., Defitri, S.Y., (…), Rahmadoni, J., Mazelfi, I.	2022	2022 International Conference on Information Technology Systems and Innovation, ICITSI 2022 - Proceedings	0
23	Smart Villages in Indonesia in the Light of the Literature Review	Agustiono, W.	2022	9th International Conference on ICT for Smart Society: Recover Together, Recover Stronger and Smarter Smartization, Governance and Collaboration, ICISS 2022 - Proceeding	0
24	Smart City Technology in the Fisherman Tourism Village in the Colorful Village, Jakarta, Indonesia	Sabarguna, B.S.	2022	Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering	0
25	Improving the urban village environmental quality through a conscious approach to clean healthy living behaviors in Palmerah, Jakarta - Indonesia	Nurdiani, N., Saragih, J.F.B., Wijaksono, S.	2021	IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science	0
26	Smart Village based on Agriculture Data Analytic for Regional Development in Indonesia: Situational Analysis	Tosida, E.T., Herdiyeni, Y., Marimin, Suprehatin	2021	Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management	0
27	Smart City (SC)-Smart Village (SC) and the ‘Rurban’ concept from a Malaysia-Indonesia perspective	Malek, J.A.	2019	African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure	0

Source: Retrieved via Scopus Database, 2023

In addition to the 27 literature above, the researcher also screened other documents based on novelty, relevance, suitability and feasibility of research regarding smart village studies in rural development in addressing community vulnerability. There are 10 journal article documents in the Scopus database through the keywords “TITLE- ABS-KEY (‘smart village’ AND ‘rural development’)” which completes the lack of literature in this study, previous research interpret the smart village is a rural development model that is innovative and fully utilizes the solutions provided by information and communication technology (ICT) to offer functional village development based on the characteristics and needs of rural development offers. As follows Table 2:

Table 2. Add document search results via Scopus database

No	Document title	Authors	Year	Source	Cited by	Quartile (?)
1	Achieving universal energy access and rural development through smart villages	van Gevelt, T., Canales Holzeis, C., Fennell, S., (…), Jones, B., Safdar, M.T.	2018	Energy for Sustainable Development	38	Q1 & WoS-SCIE
2	The “smart village” as away to achieve sustainable development in Rural Areas of Poland	Adamowicz, M., Zwolinska-Ligaj, M.	2020	Sustainability (Switzerland)	32	Q1 & WoS-SCIE/SSCI
3	How do smart villages become a way to achieve sustainable development in rural areas? Smart village planning and practices in China	Zhang, X., Zhang, Z.	2020	Sustainability (Switzerland)	25	Q1 & WoS-SCIE/SSCI
4	Implementation of the smart village concept based on selected spatial patterns – A case study of Mazowieckie Voivodeship in Poland	Bielska, A., Stańczuk-Gałwiaczek, M., Sobolewska-Mikulska, K., Mroczkowski, R.	2021	Land Use Policy	15	Q1 & WoS-SSCI
5	Thinking Together Digitalization and Social Innovation in Rural Areas: An Exploration of Rural Digitalization Projects in Germany	Sept, A.	2020	European Countryside	13	Q2 & WoS- ESCI
6	Towards a scalable architecture for smart villages: The discovery phase	Murty, V.K., Shankar, S.S.	2020	Sustainability (Switzerland)	8	Q1 & WoS-SCIE/SSCI
7	Urbanising the Rural: Reflections on India’s National Rurban Mission	Singh, C., Rahman, A.	2018	Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies	7	Q1 & WoS-SSCI
8	Development and Implementation of the Smart Village Concept as a Challenge for the Modern Power Industry on the Example of Poland	Budziewicz-Guźlecka, A., Drożdż, W.	2022	Energies	6	Q1 & WoS-SCIE
9	(Re)thinking smart in rural contexts: A multi-country study	Cambra-Fierro, J.J., Pérez, L.	2022	Growth and Change	5	Q3 & WoS-SSCI
10	Increased Attention to Smart Development in Rural Areas: A Scientometric Analysis of Smart Village Research	Wang, Q., Luo, S., Zhang, J., Furuya, K.	2022	Land	3	Q2 & WoS-SSCI

Source: Retrieved via Scopus Database, 2023

4. Results

Judging from the development of information technology, the smart village concept cannot be separated from the development of the smart city concept (Herdiana, 2019). This is based on the reason that the village as the lowest government unit in the Indonesian government structure also requires renewal and adoption of information technology developments, so that applying information technology will accelerate the development of the smart city that is being implemented (Adi and Suhartono, 2017; Hadian & Susanto, 2022; Herdiana, 2019; Rachmawati, 2018). When viewed in the context of the character of development, villages have different development patterns from cities. The village is a unitary unit of a community entity that has a distinctive character and tradition where the community is at the forefront and the main driver of development so that the village is associated as a legal community unit (Kurniawan et al., 2020; Hadian & Susanto, 2022; Kusdiyanti et al., 2020; Rachmawati, 2018). The village is also a simple unit of community homogeneity with homogeneous livelihoods (Zamroni et al., 2020; Hadian & Susanto, 2022; Herdiana, 2019; Rachmawati, 2018).

Villages as homogeneous legal community units cannot be equated with cities in the process of adopting information technology (Pranita and Kesa, 2021; Ehnberg et al., 2021; Hadian & Susanto, 2022; Rachmawati, 2018). The smart city concept cannot be applied in villages that carry the smart village terminology because of the homogeneity of the people as well as local characteristics and culture. There needs to be a conceptual construction effort based on village characteristics. From this understanding, the use of information technology in villages is aimed at strengthening community institutions, empowering, preserving the social order and structure of rural communities as a unique legal entity (Wahyuni et al., 2022; Prasetya et al., 2017; Adriyanti et al., 2018; Saleh et al., 2023). On this basis, the initial efforts to differentiate the development of the characteristics of a smart village from the development of a smart city are carried out by differentiating the approaches and goals to be achieved, this differentiation can be explained in Table 3.

Table 3. Conceptual differences between Smart City and Smart Village that are developing in Indonesia

Dimension	Smart City	Smart Village
Approach	Top-Down	Bottom-Up
Government Position	Regulator	Facilitator
Community Position	End-User	Customer
Development Process	Collectivity and Integration are the Basic Elements of Smart City	Strengthening Awareness and Participation of Smart Village Elements
Target Priority	People with high mobility	Middle income, poor, and not yet empowered people
Prerequisites of Success	The technological approach is the main basis where each party is encouraged to use information technology as the basis for the success of Smart City	The Socio-Cultural Approach is the main basis for the success of this model. The existence of a valid identification of various values, characters, norms, and problems that exist in society is the basis for the success of a smart village
Goal	The realization of information technology capable of creating economic growth, then access to information and basic services, thereby creating an increase in the quality of life of urban communities	The realization of empowerment, strengthening institutions, and increasing the welfare of rural communities based on the use of information technology

Source: Processed from various sources, 2023

The context of developing smart cities in Indonesia places various elements consisting of smart economy, smart infrastructure, smart governance, smart environment, smart living, and smart people as elements that encourage the implementation of smart cities (Ronaldo and Suryanto, 2022; Herdiana, 2019; Rifaid et al., 2023; Widianingsih et al., 2023). The functioning of these elements is the basis for the successful implementation of a smart city. These elements must have the same readiness preconditions in the adoption of information technology. In practice, a smart city places more emphasis on a top-down approach, in the sense that there is authority to encourage and suppress existing elements to carry out their functions according to the roles set out in the smart city concept, namely state institutions as parties that have authority. The implication is for the government’s role as a regulator that determines the instruments for the functioning of the smart city elements. The government, with its policy instruments must also ensure that there are detailed, rigid, and instructional rules so that all elements are able to work together to create collectivity and integration. This is slightly different from the Smart Village concept that is developing in Indonesia. Fundamental differences in implementation between Smart Cities and Smart Villages such as regional administration, financial support, and community features in urban and rural areas need to be a basic consideration in implementing Smart Villages in Indonesia. As shown in the following Table 3:

The development of smart village literature in Indonesia (see Table 2) in its process requires an analysis of the various values, characters, and norms that exist in society. This is important because the community is placed as a customer of information technology. Communities are given priority regarding which potential and character they want to develop and institutionalize through the support of information technology, therefore appropriate use of technology will be created based on the needs and character of the community within the framework of a smart village (Sept, 2020; Tosida et al., 2020a; Abdillah et al., 2022; Herdiana, 2019; Saleh et al., 2023). Another reason is that with in-depth identification of the various existing values, characters, and norms, it will determine the size of the information technology to be used. Bearing in mind that the adoption of information technology in practice requires a lot of money. Therefore, in the end it is hoped that there will be compatibility between values, characters, norms, and problems with information technology in the development of smart villages in Indonesia (Tosida et al., 2022; Herdiana, D., Hadian & Susanto, 2022; Herdiana, 2019; Rachmawati, 2018). From this understanding, it shows that there are differences in the goals of developing smart villages when compared to smart cities. Adjustment of information technology to the values, character, and norms that exist in the village will lead to the creation of synergy between the two and will be able to realize empowerment, strengthen institutions, and increase the welfare of rural communities based on the use of information technology. The smart village concept that is developing in Indonesia is presented in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Smart village conceptual model developing in Indonesia.

Source: Analyzed via Nvivo 12 Pro, 2023.

The Smart Village concept that is developing in Indonesia has 8 (eight) main areas which include: village governance, village economy, village environment, energy resources, human resources, ICT (Information and Communication Technology), village farmers, and tourism. This discovery enriches theoretical insights concerning smart villages and information technology in the development of smart villages in various villages, especially in Indonesia.

5. Bibliometric analysis describing the trends of smart village application

Bibliometric analysis on the topic of Smart Village and Rural Development in Indonesia with the keywords “(TITLE-ABS-KEY (smart AND village) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (rural AND development) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (indonesia))” during the year 2018 to 2022. There were 27 document results based on relevance, proximity, and suitability to the main topics in this study. Bibliometric analysis of this metric is to see trends in the implementation of Smart Village in rural development in facing rural vulnerabilities due to poverty problems. In Figure 4, e can observe trends in research studying smart villages in rural development in Indonesia by year.

Figure 4. The trend of publication of smart village study research on rural development in Indonesia by year.

Source: Processed by the authors, 2023.

Trends in research publications regarding the study of smart village in rural development in Indonesia based on annual developments has been very minimal. The trends of this publication are traced from the Scopus Database, where in 2018 there were 5 research documents, in 2019 there were 2 research documents, in 2020 there were 5 research documents, and it increased in 2021 with 7 documents, and in 2022 it increased to 9 research documents. This search proves that the attention of Indonesian researchers to publish their scientific work on Scopus is still very small. This is due to the lack of attention to studying the issue of Smart Village in rural development to address community vulnerabilities, or it could also be due to the inability of Indonesian researchers to publish their research. In addition to publication trends based on annual developments, studies on Smart Village in rural development in Indonesia which have been published and indexed in the Scopus Database have various subject areas (see Figure 5).

Figure 5. Trends in research publications regarding the Smart Village study of rural development in Indonesia based on their subject areas.

Source: Processed by the authors, 2023.

Trends in research publications regarding the study of smart village in rural development in Indonesia based on their subject areas, can be said to vary widely (the number above is the identification result based on standard search references in the Scopus database which sees 1 article document has several subject areas). This shows that the study of Smart Villages in rural development in Indonesia is studied with various subject areas that are interrelated with each other, so that the studies carried out need to pay attention to all relevant perspectives from other subject areas. In addition to the various subject areas concerning the Smart Village study in rural development in Indonesia, they were published in various types of documents in the Scopus Database (see Figure 6).

Figure 6. Trends in research publications on the study of the smart village of rural development in Indonesia based on document type.

Source: Processed by the authors, 2023.

Based on the type of documents published and indexed in the Scopus Database, the trend of studies on Smart Village in rural development in Indonesia is dominated by Conference Paper types with 81.5% percentage and Article document types with 18.5% percentage on keywords “(TITLE-ABS-KEY (smart AND village) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (rural AND development) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (indonesia))”. This shows that there is still limited research on this study which has been published in various international journals indexed in the Scopus Database. This is an important note and a challenge for Indonesian researchers to be able to publish the results of their research on the Smart Village study in rural development in Indonesia in reputable international journals, the trend of which is currently still limited. The following is a network of document citations from the largest to the most recent, Figure 6 shows the power of influence based on the many referenced citations on the topic of Smart Village and rural development in Indonesia (see Figure 7).

Figure 7. The strength of document citations regarding the study of the smart village of rural development in Indonesia.

Source: Processed via Vosviewer, 2023.

Documents with the most citations are Ella and Andari (2019) with 16 citations, E. T. Tosida, Suprehatin, et al. (2020b) with 7 citations, Tosida E. T. (2020b) with 3 citations, Muda and Erlina (2020), p. 2 citations, and then Tosida E.T. (2022) and Agustina and Yahya (2022) with the lowest citations. Author countries that tend to research the Smart Village study in rural development in Indonesia are: (1) Indonesia (with 25 documents), (2) Malaysia (1 document), (2) Sweden (1 document), and (4) Japan (1) documents. Then, in order to be able to explore trends in study topics regarding Smart Villages in village development in Indonesia, the researcher presents a Vosviewer analysis based on the Co-occurrence analysis of All Keywords. We can view key information networks, and the latest related research trends (see Figure 8).

Figure 8. Co-occurrence analysis based on the all keywords analysis unit for smart villages and rural development in Indonesia (in Network Visualization).

Source: Processed via Vosviewer, 2023.

Based on Figure 8, we identified 16 clusters of main topic issues that are relevant, close to, and in accordance with the study of Smart Villages and Rural Development in Indonesia. The 16 clusters are as follows: First Cluster (red), related to Application Programs and Buildings, Business Intelligence, Citizen’s Participations, Competitive Intelligence, Database Systems, Decision-Making, geo-spatial, geographic informations and Health, Information management and analysis, Large population, public administration sector, rapid growth, smart governance, social welfare, and web geographic informations; Second Cluster (green), advanced analytics, agricultural business and robots, big data analytics, budger control, digital village, renewable energies, small businesses, and social capitals; Third Cluster (blue), acid batteries, economic and social effects, electric conversion and utilities, environmental benefits, fisheries, fishing boats, flooded acid batteries, payback tima, rural electrification, solar energy, and power generation; Fourth Cluster (Yellow), central government, coastal areas, design thinking, eco-tourism, fishing village, human-centered design, local economy, marketplace, mobile application, smart city technology, system-interface design, tourism development and attraction, and usability problems, user experience; Fifth Cluster (Purple), citizen science, environmental sustainability, finance, green economy and finance, green micro-enterprise, green technology innovation, Indonesian fund village, information communication, micro-enterprises, sustainable development, and technology innovation; Sixth cluster (light blue), Village autonomy, application development, collaborative governance, development model and phases, digital technology, regional planning, rural areas and development, smart village and village development policy; Seventh Cluster (yellow) communication technology, cultural difference, global communication, urban concept, smart cities, social problems and processes, urban population; Cluster Eight (Brown), building blocks, digital infrastructures, digital literacy and transformation, ecosystems, electronic commerce, management model, market condition, pandemic, and talent management; Cluster Nine (purple), agurpricultural machinery, cascade systems, drying, economical aspects, excessive energy, geothermal energy and potential, geothermal prospecting, heat exchange, optimum temperature, village development; Cluster Ten (pink), electric power transmission, management infrastructure, metropolitan area, smart city, smart power grids, social environment, solid wastes, urban planning, waste management; Cluster Eleven (light green), Betawi ornament, clean healthy living behaviors, environmental quality, healthy environments, improving quality of environment, local community, quality of life, residential environment, sense of glass, urban environment; Cluster Twelve (dull blue), Covid-19, economy analysis, smart economy, socio-economic vulnerability, and urban areas; Cluster Thirteen (light yellow) developing countries, environmental technology, organizational cultures, performance, smart government, and village development index; Cluster Fourteen (light purple), alternative livelihoods, behavioral change, coastal resources, economic sustainability, financial analysis, investments, seaweed, sustainable livelihood, and work productivity; Cluster fifteen (light blue), Development path, digital divide, ecology, life improvement sea; Cluster of sixteen (dull orange) appropriate technologies, information and communication technology (ICT) developmen, ICT services, and telecommunication services. There are two stakeholders in the context of villages in Indonesia, namely the village government as a state institution and the rural communities. In relation to the development of a smart village, the two stakeholders are the main dimensions on which the implementation of the smart village is based. Other resources in the village, namely natural resources (natural capital), social resources (social capital), and cultural resources (cultural capital) are made part of supporting the lives of village communities and village government (Adi and Suhartono, 2017; Adriyanti et al., 2018; Ehnberg et al., 2021; Kurniawan et al., 2020; Agusta, 2007;). In this context these resources are integrated into a rural environment.

The smart village concept is understood by experts as the integration of information technology in rural community life (see Table 1), resulting in benefits and continuity between information technology and rural communities. The dimensions of resources, institutions, and technology are the fundamental dimensions for the implementation of smart villages. While digital services, service chains, and sustainability are the differentiating dimensions revealed by these experts. This common understanding is based on the understanding that the application of information technology requires the capability of the institution as the holder of authority and the support of human resources capacity. In relation to the context of villages in Indonesia, the understanding of these experts must be understood rigidly but must become a unit.

The Smart Village concept in Indonesia has 8 (eight) main areas in building a smart village including, village governance, village economy, village environment, energy resources, human resources, ICT (Technology, Information, and Communication), village farmers, and tourism (Fatimah et al., 2020). This discovery enriches the theoretical exploration of smart villages and information technology in the development of smart villages in Indonesia. From this understanding, it shows that there are differences in the goals of developing smart villages when compared to smart cities. Adjustment of information technology to the values, character, and norms that exist in the villages will lead to the creation of synergy between the two and will be able to realize empowerment, strengthen institutions, and increase the welfare of rural communities based on the use of information technology in Indonesia (Agustiono, 2022; Andari & Ella, 2021; Anugraha et al., 2022; Ella & Andari, 2019; Mazya & Kolopaking, 2021; Sabarguna, 2022; Yuniar & Hasanah, 2021).

Based on the above understanding, the application of the smart village concept in Indonesia is more interpreted as trends in the use of ICT in order to be used as an element that encourages linkages between the village government, the community, and the village environment so that they are able to realize the goals of organizing life and village development in facing vulnerabilities based on the use of information technology.

6. Discussion

6.1. Smart village in rural development to overcome community vulnerability in Indonesia

The high number of underdeveloped and very underdeveloped villages is the reason for the need to develop smart villages. According to data from the Ministry of Villages (2023), In 2022, Indonesia will have 6,239 (8.43%) Independent Villages, 20248 (27.34%) Developed Villages, 33892 (45.77%) Developing Villages, 9,234 (12.47%) Underdeveloped Villages, and 4,438 (5.99%) %) Very Underdeveloped Villages. Indonesia still needs to encourage the development of smart villages in facing the problems of vulnerability and developmental gaps in various regions in Indonesia. Apart from that, there are still a large number of villages that are lagging behind and very underdeveloped villages in the last three years which are problems that need to be resolved by the government in Indonesia, these numbers show that there is still a high level of vulnerability that requires handling. To overcome these vulnerabilities in smart village development, comprehensive handling of important elements is needed, namely The government, community, and rural environment (Widianingsih et al., 2023; Budziewicz-Guźlecka & Drożdż, 2022; Cambra‐Fierro & Pérez, 2022; Murty & Shankar, 2020; van Gevelt et al., 2018).

The government, community, and rural environment are elements that form a smart village that have different roles and functions (Adamowicz & Zwolińska-Ligaj, 2020; Wolski & Wójcik, 2019). However, these three elements are all inseparable and influence each other. Therefore the application of the smart village concept must be based on the accommodation of these three elements, including the character, roles and functions performed by each stakeholder (Adamowicz & Zwolińska-Ligaj, 2020; Bielska et al., 2021; Zhang & Zhang, 2020).

The development of smart villages in the context of villages in Indonesia, although it is strongly influenced by the development of smart cities which must be constructed differently (Sabarguna, 2022; Malek, J.A., 2019; Wang et al., 2022). Smart village must be understood as an effort to empower, strengthen institutions, and increase the welfare of village communities based on the use of information technology that encourages resilience and achieves sustainable development (Budziewicz-Guźlecka & Drożdż, 2022; Cambra‐Fierro & Pérez, 2022; Murty & Shankar, 2020; van Gevelt et al., 2018). This is based on the reality that the development of a smart village is faced with the locality of values, traditions and culture that exist in the village. These areas must be accommodated, maintained, and developed based on the use of information technology which is in line with improving the quality of life of the community and progress of the village (Adi & Heripracoyo, 2018; E. T. Tosida, Suprehatin, et al., 2020b; Ella & Andari, 2018).

Several studies such as van Gevelt et al. (2018) stated that a smart village is an integrated approach that pays attention to sustainable village development, builds markets to leverage the private sector, creates a supportive, coherent, and flexible policy framework at the national level, and rethinks financing mechanisms. In line with research conducted by Adamowicz and Zwolińska-Ligaj (2020) states that a smart village has a conceptual framework as a means to achieve rural sustainability and resilience, relying on a basic theoretical analysis of sustainable and persistent growth. Research from Zhang and Zhang (2020) and Sept, A. (2020) states that smart villages are a model of rural development regarding social and digital social innovation that utilizes information and communication technology (ICT) to promote village development. sustainable development based on clarification of the characteristics and needs of rural development. Research Bielska et al. (2021) stated that the innovation process in the smart environment is the key to development that maximizes the utilization of village potential, such as developing village trade, developing village energy systems, developing traditional village food production, and supporting regional development processes which are things that need to be considered in the development of smart villages in an area. Murty and Shankar (2020) also stated that the smart village concept must be capable of alleviating poverty, reducing inequality, and achieving prosperity and economic well-being. In line with that Wang et al. (2022) also stated that the current trend of the smart village concept places a relatively narrow focus on technology-based approaches, while the dimensions of society, services, and culture as a smart community have been largely ignored.

Therefore, a more dynamic conceptual model (Smart government, Smart Environment, and Smart Community) of the smart village in rural development is proposed to ask for more perspectives in encouraging more resilient and sustainable rural development. Based on the above understanding, the development of a smart village is based on 3 (three) main elements consisting of smart government, smart environment, and smart community. These three elements are used as the basis and meaning of “tools” to achieve the “objectives” of developing a resilient and sustainable smart village. It is a constructive “intelligent relationship”. From the relationships that arise between the three smart village elements, the resulting output is in the form of synergies between smart village elements based on the use of information technology, policy support, community, services, and culture. While the outcome is in the form of the productivity of the smart village elements which are able to encourage improvements to these three elements. The limitations of smart villages that only rely on information systems and technology need to be compensated for by increasing awareness and active involvement of local stakeholders in village development in Indonesia.

7. Conclusion

Demographic changes in rural areas such as aging and depopulation, together with digital adaptation slowness and geographic idiosyncrasies, are contributing to the marginalization of rural local residents. Rural development is a priority for the Indonesian government, which proposes an alternative to marginalization through smart villages. This article seeks to highlight the dominant trends in smart village initiatives and describe the characteristics of rural areas in the Indonesian region and population along with the local measures implemented. Innovation, knowledge, growth, and management appear to influence rural smart planning. Limited interventions implemented locally in rural areas of Indonesia focus on social innovation and local development, as well as ecotourism that is in line with the Indonesian government’s development policy directions. It also looks at global trends in smart village planning. The study argues that in Indonesia, a holistic smart village model cannot be proposed, due to the country’s spatial and demographic variability.

The trends identified in this article, however, can be leveraged as a basis for implementing local strategies or policies to successfully promote resilience, development, and the quality of life of marginalized populations. Finally, the link between smart and innovative interventions and spatial development are stakeholders. In order to assess the potential and limitations of development and to formulate locally oriented policies, it is necessary to create actors who are locally aware.

The Smart Village concept in Indonesia has 8 main areas in building a smart village including: village governance, village economy, village environment, energy resources, human resources, ICT (Technology, Information and Communication), village farmers, and tourism. This discovery enriches the theoretical exploration of smart villages and information technology in the development of smart villages in Indonesia. From this understanding, it shows that there are differences in the goals of developing smart villages when compared to smart cities. Adjustment of information technology to the values, character, and norms that exist in the villages will lead to the creation of synergy between the two and will be able to realize empowerment, strengthen institutions, and increase the welfare of rural communities based on the use of information technology in Indonesia.

The smart village concept in this study recommends 3 (three) main elements consisting of smart government, smart environment, and smart community. These three elements are used as the basis and meaning of “tools” to achieve the “goal” of developing a resilient and sustainable smart village. This is a constructive “smart relationship.” From the relationships that arise between the three smart village elements, the resulting output is in the form of synergies between smart village elements based on the use of information technology, policy support, community, services, and culture. While the outcome is in the form of the productivity of the smart village elements which are able to drive the improvement of these three elements. This study also shows that there are differences in the goals of smart village development when compared to smart cities and enriches the exploration of smart village theory that can be implemented in various villages in particular. Therefore it is suggested to increase the awareness and active involvement of local stakeholders in Indonesia.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the Faculty of Social & Political Sciences, Padjadjaran University for supporting this research, so that this research can be completed and published.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The results of the study can be found in the figures attached in the article. The data set used to support the findings of this study is available from the corresponding author upon request.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no external funding

Notes on contributors

Entang Adhy Muhtar

Entang Adhy Muhtar is a lecturer at the Public Administration Department, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Padjadjaran University, Indonesia. His research relates to Rural_Development Administration, Public Policy Leadership, and Local Government.

Abdillah Abdillah

Abdillah Abdillah is Doctoral Student and Assistant Professor in the Administrative Sciences Programme, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia. His research interests relate to Local Government Studies, Climate Change Governance, Urban Resilience, Artificial Intelligence in Government, and Local political.

Ida Widianingsih

Ida Widianingsih is a Professor at Public Administration Department and Vice Dean for Learning, Student, and Research Affairs of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia. Her research interests relate to public administration and development issues, inclusive development policy, and participatory governance.

Qinthara Mubarak Adikancana

Qinthara Mubarak Adikancana is a researcher at Center for Decentralization & Participatory Development Research, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Padjadjaran University, Indonesia. His research is related to Dynamic Systems, Public Organizations, and Public Management.