Showing papers by "Lars Tummers published in 2013"

Facing off with Scylla and Charybdis: a comparison of scalar, partial, and the novel possibility of approximate measurement invariance.

Abstract: Measurement invariance (MI) is a prerequisite for comparing latent variable scores across groups. The current paper introduces the concept of approximate measurement invariance building on the work of Muthen and Asparouhov and their application of Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling (BSEM) in the software Mplus. They showed that with BSEM exact zeros constraints can be replaced with approximate zeros to allow for minimal steps away from strict MI, still yielding a well-fitting model. This new opportunity enables researchers to make explicit trade-offs between the degree of MI on the one hand, and the degree of model fit on the other. Throughout the paper we discuss the topic of approximate MI, followed by an empirical illustration where the test for MI fails, but where allowing for approximate MI results in a well-fitting model. Using simulated data, we investigate in which situations approximate MI can be applied and when it leads to unbiased results. Both our empirical illustration and the simulation study show approximate MI outperforms full or partial MI In detecting/recovering the true latent mean difference when there are (many) small differences in the intercepts and factor loadings across groups. In the discussion we provide a step-by-step guide in which situation what type of MI is preferred. Our paper provides a first step in the new research area of (partial) approximate MI and shows that it can be a good alternative when strict MI leads to a badly fitting model and when partial MI cannot be applied.

Leadership and Meaningful Work in the Public Sector

Abstract: There have been many important studies on leadership in the public administration discipline; however, scholarly inquiry still lags behind related disciplines such as psychology and business administration. This article helps fill that gap by analyzing the role that public leaders play in making work more meaningful for their employees, which, in turn, has a positive influence on employee job outcomes. Specifically, the authors analyze the mediating role of work meaningfulness in the relationships between leader-member exchange and organizational commitment, work effort, and work-to-family enrichment. Samples from education, health care, and local government are used. Results show that leadership strongly influences work meaningfulness, which, in turn, influences job outcomes. In addition, the impact and extent of leadership and work meaningfulness are higher in health care and education than in local government. The results emphasize the importance of leadership and meaningful work in the public sector.

Why do nurses intend to leave their organization? A large-scale analysis in long-term care.

Abstract: Aim. To analyse the impact of six job characteristics on the intention of nurses to leave their organization, specifically focusing on long-term care settings: nursing homes, care homes and home care. Background. When nurses leave their organization, this can negatively affect organizational performance. Organizations have to recruit new nurses and tacit knowledge is lost. Furthermore, organizational turnover could contribute to the nursing shortage, which will increasingly become a problem given the ageing population. This article adds to the literature, given: (a) its focus on long-term care; and (b) by explicating the differences between nursing and care homes (intramural) on one hand and home care (extramural) on the other. Design. Survey. Method. Survey of 9982 nurses in 156 Dutch organizations in 2010–2011, 6321 nurses in nursing and care homes and 3661 nurses working in home care, based on the ActiZ Benchmark in Healthcare. Results. First, the most important reason for nurses’ intention to leave is insufficient development and career opportunities. Secondly, a negative working atmosphere strongly influenced intention to leave. The impact of the working atmosphere is not often examined in the literature. However, this research shows that it is an important reason. Thirdly, intention to leave is partly context dependent. More specifically, when nurses in home care felt that their autonomy was reduced, this strongly influenced their intention to leave, although this was not the case for nurses working in nursing and care homes. Conclusion. This article provides guidelines for organizations on how to retain their nurses.

The effects of work alienation on organisational commitment, work effort and work-to-family enrichment.

Abstract: textAim: The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of work alienation on organizational commitment, work effort and work-to-family enrichment. Background: There is substantial research on the effects of work alienation on passive job performance, such as organizational commitment. However, studies analyzing work alienation on active performance, such as work effort, and outside work, such as work-to-family enrichment, are scarce. Method: Two dimensions of work alienation are considered: powerlessness and meaninglessness. Hypotheses are tested using surveys collected among a national sample of midwives in the Netherlands (respondents: 790, response rate 61%). Results: Findings indicate that work alienation (powerlessness and meaninglessness) influence organizational commitment, work effort and – to a lesser extent - work-to-family enrichment. High work meaninglessness, in particular, has negative effects on these outcomes. Conclusion: When people feel that they have no influence in their work (hence, when they feel ‘powerless’) and especially when the feel that their work is not worthwhile (when they feel ‘meaningless’), this has substantial negative effects. Implications for nursing management: Managers should increase the meaningfulness people attach to their work, thereby maintaining a high-quality workforce. Possible strategies include: 1.Improving person-job fit, 2. Developing high-quality relationships, 3. Better communicating the results people help deliver.

Policy Alienation and the Power of Professionals: Confronting New Policies

Abstract: Contents: Preface Part I: Introduction and Background of Policy Alienation 1. Introducing Policy Alienation and the Power of Professionals 2. An Historical Background of Alienation Part II: Conceptualizing Policy Alienation 3. A Definition of Policy Alienation 4. A Measurement Instrument for Policy Alienation Part III: Antecedents of Policy Alienation 5. The Impact of New Public Management and Professionalism on Policy Alienation Part IV: Effects of Policy Alienation 6. The Impact of Policy Alienation on Resistance to Change 7. Moving Beyond Policy Alienation? Examining Organizational Context and Personality Characteristics Part V: Conclusions and Moving Forward 8. Discussion and Conclusions Appendix: How Can I Use the Policy Alienation Framework in Research, in Consultancy or as a Practitioner? Five Basic Steps References Index

Citizens in charge? Reviewing the background and value of introducing choice and competition in public services

Abstract: textIntroducing choice and competition in public services was supposed to put citizens in the “driver’s seat”, making them in charge of their service provision. Introducing choice often is indeed beneficial for citizens. However, it sometimes also leads to increased inequality among citizens. This chapter provides an overview of the background, facilitators and pitfalls of choice, illustrated using empirical studies from various sectors (such as education, healthcare and utilities) in various countries. We conclude by arguing that policymakers should make informed decisions regarding choice. Introducing choice can benefit public services, but one should remain cautious for its potential negative effects.

Embarking on the social innovation journey: A systematic review regarding the potential of co-creation with citizens

Abstract: and especially social innovation is a ‘magic concept’ that during the last years has been embraced as a promising reform strategy for the public sector. It is argued that it is important for social innovation that it is being co-created with citizens. However, to date there are no overviews on co-creation during innovation, which systematically analyze the literature concerning the forms, antecedents and effects of co-creation. This paper therefore conducted a systematic review to retrieve studies on co-creation. It also included related literature on co-production. 49 peer-reviewed articles in the period from 1987-2013 were included. In general, most studies employ a qualitative case study approach. Quantitative studies are scare. Most studies have been conducted in the healthcare or education sector. The review further reveals that in the level of citizen involvement is often rather low; citizens are only acting as co-implementer, not designers or initiators. Considering the factors influencing co-creation, we found that an administrative culture of fear and risk-aversion and not accepting citizens as partners are strong barriers. While factors influencing co-creation where often studied, there seems to be much less research on the outcomes or objectives of co-creation. Co-creation is often also seen as a value in itself. We conclude by summarizing the results and providing a future research agenda for thoroughly studying co-creation during public innovation.

Handling stress during policy implementation: Developing a classification of “coping” by frontline workers based on a systematic review

Abstract: Stress is endemic to street-level work. How frontline workers handle conflicting pressures and changes in their environment bears substantially on policy performance and the delivery of human services. ‘Coping’ is the current term for understanding frontline workers responses to stress. Coping in the field of policy implementation is a sensitizing concept, not yet harmonized with extensive coping literature in clinical psychology nor operationalized to enable its measurement of its prevalence in the context of policy implementation. This paper takes steps to close that gap. Our main objective is to define coping and build a classification model. To this end, we conduct a systematic review of the literature on coping during policy implementation. After discussing ways that technology and new forms of public administration may bear on coping, we build a classification model of coping during policy implementation, comprised of three main families of coping (negotiation, problem solving and opposition) and multiple ways of coping (such as blaming others, routinizing services and whistleblowing). Our ultimate goal is to operationalize coping in the context of frontline work so that it can advance our understanding of human service delivery and serve as a diagnostic tool for practitioners seeking to improve policy performance as everyday practice.

Connecting HRM and Change Management: How HR Practices Can Stimulate Change Readiness

Abstract: textOrganizations are continuously under pressure to adapt to new developments such as policy changes, budgets cuts, and the introduction of new management ideologies. To adjust successfully to changing conditions, it is important that employees feel vital and are pro-active so that they can help implementing proposed organizational changes. However, how job proactivity and vitality is achieved is still unclear. This study connect HRM literature with change management literature to analyze how HR practices can increase proactivity and vitality at work. We used data collected in three large public healthcare organizations in the Netherlands (n = 1,507). SEM results shows that three HR practices are particularly effective for improving proactivity and vitality: 1) autonomy, 2) participation in decision-making, and 3) teamwork. Based on these results, we discuss the possibilities of using HRM to stimulate employees’ readiness for organizational change.

Connecting public administration and change management literature : The effects of policy alienation on resistance to change

Abstract: text The main goal of this article is to contribute to change management literature in the public sector. A recent literature review argues that there is a gap in the literature on change management specifically using the public administration perspective. We therefore analyze resistance to change in the public sector using an interdisciplinary approach, combining insights from public administration and change management literature. From public administration, we draw on the policy alienation model, which consists of five dimensions: strategic powerlessness, tactical powerlessness, operational powerlessness, societal meaninglessness and client meaninglessness. These factors could influence resistance to change. We test this using two independent large scale samples. Based on Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), we show that societal and client meaninglessness proved very influential. Furthermore, perceived autonomy (operational powerlessness) strongly influenced resistance to change, whereas strategic and tactical powerlessness were far less important. Based on the results, we nuance this impact of employee influence and participation and highlight the value of meaningful changes/policies. Implications for scholars and a future research agenda regarding change management in the public sector is shown.

T.R. – Journal of Organizational Change Management

Abstract: textNew public management (NPM) refers to an ideology that underpinned public sector reform of the 1980s and 1990s (Dieffenbach, 2009; Hood, 1991; Pollitt & Bouckaert, 2004; 2011). At its core was a problematisation of existing public sector institutional forms and operations for which the solution was establishing organizational arrangements within state bureaucracies that could be subjected to modern management as practiced in the private sector (Brunsson, 2012). Central to this are the ideas of steering, effectiveness, and efficiency, which proponents of NPM argue improve public administration by increasing accountability and productivity. Organizational change arising from NPM tended to be around structure, culture, strategy processes, and strategy content (Ashworth, et al., 2009). Some examples of these changes include the development of internal market-like competition, casualisation of employment, and the contracting-out of services in public hospitals, schools, and public transport.

Public Professionals and Policy Alienation

Abstract: In this chapter, we explore the pressures faced by professionals when implementing public policy programs. This is relevant, as many of the pressures exerted on professionals are related to the policies that are implemented (Duyvendak et al. 2006; Freidson 2001). This chapter will specifically focus on the public professional in his relationship with the government. It will also illustrate how this unilateral relationship of government and professional is complicated by influences of the occupation, the organization and the public.

Leadership and Meaningful Work in the Public Sector

Abstract: In the public administration discipline, there have been a number of important studies on leadership. However, here, scholarly inquiry still lags behind related disciplines such as psychology and business administration. This article contributes by analyzing the role public leaders can play in making work more meaningful for their employees, which in turn positively influences employees’ job outcomes. More specifically, it analyzes the mediating role of work meaningfulness in the relationships between Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and organizational commitment, work effort, and work-to-family enrichment. Samples from education, healthcare, and local government are used. Results show firstly that leadership strongly influences work meaningfulness, which in turn influences job outcomes. Secondly, it was found that the impact and extent of leadership and work meaningfulness are higher in healthcare and education than in local government. The results emphasize the importance of leadership and meaningful work in the public sector.

Facing off with Scylla and Charybdis: a comparison of scalar, partial, and the novel possibility of approximate measurement invariance

Abstract: Measurement invariance (MI) is a pre-requisite for comparing latent variable scores across groups. The current paper introduces the concept of approximate MI building on the work of Muthen and Asparouhov and their application of Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling (BSEM) in the software Mplus. They showed that with BSEM exact zeros constraints can be replaced with approximate zeros to allow for minimal steps away from strict MI, still yielding a well-fitting model. This new opportunity enables researchers to make explicit trade-offs between the degree of MI on the one hand, and the degree of model fit on the other. Throughout the paper we discuss the topic of approximate MI, followed by an empirical illustration where the test for MI fails, but where allowing for approximate MI results in a well-fitting model. Using simulated data, we investigate in which situations approximate MI can be applied and when it leads to unbiased results. Both our empirical illustration and the simulation study show approximate MI outperforms full or partial MI In detecting/recovering the true latent mean difference when there are (many) small differences in the intercepts and factor loadings across groups. In the discussion we provide a step-by-step guide in which situation what type of MI is preferred. Our paper provides a first step in the new research area of (partial) approximate MI and shows that it can be a good alternative when strict MI leads to a badly fitting model and when partial MI cannot be applied.

Connecting public administration and change management literature

Abstract: The main goal of this article is to contribute to change management literature in the public sector. A recent literature review argues that there is a gap in the literature on change management specifically using the public administration perspective. We therefore analyze resistance to change in the public sector using an interdisciplinary approach, combining insights from public administration and change management literature. From public administration, we draw on the policy alienation model, which consists of five dimensions: strategic powerlessness, tactical powerlessness, operational powerlessness, societal meaninglessness and client meaninglessness. These factors could influence resistance to change. We test this using two independent large scale samples. Based on Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), we show that societal and client meaninglessness proved very influential. Furthermore, perceived autonomy (operational powerlessness) strongly influenced resistance to change, whereas strategic and tactical powerlessness were far less important. Based on the results, we nuance this impact of employee influence and participation and highlight the value of meaningful changes/policies. Implications for scholars and a future research agenda regarding change management in the public sector is shown.

Policy alienation of public professionals: Structural factors at the governmental level

Abstract: markdown____ Previous research that used the policy alienation framework to understand why or why not public professionals identify with policies, applied the framework to analyze the experiences with one specific policy. The present paper complements these studies by adopting a different stance towards policy alienation, namely by analyzing the feelings of strategic (national), tactical (organizational) and operational (personal) powerlessness and societal and client meaninglessness of public professionals towards policies more generally speaking. The main reason for this is entangled in processes such as policy layering and policy succession, that suggest that new policies should not truly be regarded as new. In this paper we adopt the point of view that policies are not developed in a vacuum and that earlier experiences with policies or policy processes result in a public professional having a certain disposition, more or less alienated, towards policies in general. We aimed at investigating structural causes at the governmental level that affect this degree of alienation. A review of the literature suggested that experienced trust from the government (i.e. to what extent a public professional has the impression that the government is trusting him and colleague professionals), the perceived consistency of policies over time and the quality of information provided are all negatively related to policy alienation. Since policy alienation is a multidimensional concept, we undertook a survey among 1.183 Dutch education professionals, and analyzed the data using structural equation modeling in order to determine the relative strengths of the relationships and to estimate for each of the dimensions which factors were most relevant. Theoretical contributions to the policy implementation literature concerning the attitudes and behaviours of public professionals, as well as directions for future research and practical implications, are discussed.

The Effects of Work Alienation on Organizational Commitment, Work Effort and Work-to-Family Enrichment

Abstract: Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of work alienation on organizational commitment, work effort and work-to-family enrichment. Background: There is substantial research on the effects of work alienation on passive job performance, such as organizational commitment. However, studies analyzing work alienation on active performance, such as work effort, and outside work, such as work-to-family enrichment, are scarce. Method: Two dimensions of work alienation are considered: powerlessness and meaninglessness. Hypotheses are tested using surveys collected among a national sample of midwives in the Netherlands (respondents: 790, response rate 61%). Results: Findings indicate that work alienation (powerlessness and meaninglessness) influence organizational commitment, work effort and — to a lesser extent — work-to-family enrichment. High work meaninglessness, in particular, has negative effects on these outcomes. Conclusion: When people feel that they have no influence in their work (hence, when they feel ‘powerless’) and especially when the feel that their work is not worthwhile (when they feel ‘meaningless’), this has substantial negative effects. Implications for nursing management: Managers should increase the meaningfulness people attach to their work, thereby maintaining a high-quality workforce. Possible strategies include: 1. Improving person-job fit, 2. Developing high-quality relationships, 3. Better communicating the results people help deliver.

Why Do Nurses Intend to Leave Their Organization? A Large Scale Analysis in Long Term Care

Abstract: Aim: To analyze the impact of six job characteristics on the intention of nurses to leave their organization, specifically focusing on long term care settings: nursing homes, care homes and home care.Background: When nurses leave their organization, this can negatively affect organizational performance. Organizations have to recruit new nurses and tacit knowledge is lost. Furthermore, organizational turnover could contribute to the nursing shortage, which will increasingly become a problem given the aging population. This article adds to the literature, given a) its focus on long term care and b) by explicating the differences between nursing and care homes (intramural) on the one hand and home care (extramural) on the other.Design: SurveyMethod: Survey of 9,982 nurses in 156 Dutch organizations in 2010-2011, 6,321 nurses in nursing and care homes and 3,661 nurses working in home care, based on the ActiZ Benchmark in Healthcare.Results: Firstly, the most important reason for nurses’ intention to leave is insufficient development and career opportunities. Secondly, a negative working atmosphere strongly influenced intention to leave. The impact of the working atmosphere is not often examined in the literature. However, this research shows that it is an important reason. Thirdly, intention to leave is partly context dependent. More specifically, when nurses in home care felt that their autonomy was reduced, this strongly influenced their intention to leave, while this was not the case for nurses working in nursing and care homes.Conclusion: This article provides guidelines for organizations on how to retain their nurses.

General policy alienation of public professionals: Identifying structural causes at the government level

Abstract: Previous research on policy alienation of public professionals focused on alienation towards one specific policy. The present paper complements these studies by investigating general policy alienation, as notions of path dependency suggest it is valuable to understand feelings of strategic (national), tactical (organizational) and operational (personal) powerlessness and societal and client meaninglessness towards policies in general, instead of focusing solely on the experiences of public professionals with specific policies. We aimed at identifying main causes of general policy alienation at the government level. A review of the literature suggested that experienced trust from the government, policy consistency and informing are negatively related to general policy alienation. To test the hypotheses, we adopted a multi-method approach. On the basis of 21 semi-structured interviews we first determined that these three factors were experienced by the respondents as predictors of general policy alienation. Since policy alienation is a multidimensional concept, consisting of multiple dimensions, we then undertook a survey among 1.183 Dutch education professionals in order to determine the relative strengths of the relationships and to estimate for each dimension of general policy alienation which factors were most relevant. Theoretical contributions to the policy implementation literature concerning the attitudes and behaviours of public professionals, as well as directions for future research and practical implications, are discussed.

Policy Implementation, Street-Level Bureaucracy and the Importance of Discretion

Abstract: Street-level bureaucrats implementing public policies have a certain degree of autonomy – or discretion – in their work. Following Lipsky, discretion has received wide attention in the policy implementation literature. However, scholars have not developed theoretical frameworks regarding the effects of discretion, which were then tested these using large samples. This study therefore develops a theoretical framework regarding two main effects of discretion: client meaningfulness and willingness to implement. The relationships are tested using a survey among 1,300 healthcare professionals implementing a new policy. The results underscore the importance of discretion. Implications of the findings and a future research agenda is shown.