Orientation: Digital acceleration forces all public service organisations to prepare to shift from traditional methods to digital methods. Thus, this phenomenon challenges today’s public service organisations to present new service innovations with technological elements to create superior performance. Research purpose: This study aims to explore and analyse the impact of digital competence, smart digital services, and service quality on the performance of public service employees. Motivation for the study: Human resources in public service organisations face many challenges, namely how to adapt to technology and create effective services to improve service quality and employee performance. Research approach/design and method: This study was conducted in all government organisations in Central Java province, Indonesia. The sampling technique used was proportional random sampling, so that a sample of 262 civil servants was obtained. This study uses a quantitative method with Structural Equation Model (SEM) analysis. Main findings: The study results show that digital competence has a positive impact on intelligent digital services, which significantly improves service quality and ultimately has a positive impact on employee performance. Practical/managerial implications: The results of this study provide important insights for policy makers in the Central Java Provincial Government, Indonesia, to determine the direction of digital competence development and service innovation in achieving positive performance. Contribution/value-add: This study provides a roadmap for public service organisations to develop employees who can adapt to digital competencies and smart digital services to achieve maximum performance.

Understanding generational differences in herding behavior is crucial for policymakers, financial educators, and market regulators, particularly in emerging markets where retail investor participation is rapidly growing. This study investigates the influence of herding behavior on investment decision-making among Generations X, Y, and Z in Indonesia, as well as the moderating role of investment experience. Using a multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) approach with data from 1293 retail investors, the research compares behavioral tendencies across cohorts. Results reveal that herding behavior has a positive and significant impact on investment decision-making in all generations, with the strongest effect observed in Generation X, followed by Generation Z and Generation Y. Investment experience significantly weakens herding behavior’s influence for Generation X but shows no significant moderating effect for Generations Y and Z, suggesting that psychological and social influences, particularly from digital platforms, may outweigh experiential learning in younger cohorts. These findings align with behavioral finance theory, which explains herding as a cognitive and emotional bias heightened by market uncertainty. The results provide practical implications for designing targeted financial education programs and regulatory measures to promote independent decision-making and reduce susceptibility to biased market information, especially among younger generations in digitally driven investment environments.