Showing papers in "Public Management Review in 2011"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the phenomenon of "magic" concepts, i.e., those key terms which seem to be pervasive among both academics and practitioners, and find that these concepts have properties in common which help promote their popularity.
Abstract: This article examines the phenomenon of ‘magic’ concepts – those key terms which seem to be pervasive among both academics and practitioners. Within that category our focus is on ‘governance’, ‘accountability’ and ‘networks’. Our prime purpose is to map their meanings and how they are used. Following an analysis of a wide range of literature – both academic and practitioner – we find that these concepts have properties in common which help promote their popularity. A high degree of abstraction, a strongly positive normative charge, a seeming ability to dissolve previous dilemmas and binary oppositions and a mobility across domains, give them their ‘magic’ character. Limitations are also identified. Magic concepts are useful, but potentially seductive. They should not be stretched to purposes for which they are not fitted.
265 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors make important distinctions among related but distinct concepts which are often blurred in the response phase of true crises, such as emergency management, change management, and transformational leadership.
Abstract: This article seeks to clarify what competencies are needed in the response phase of true crises, and to make important distinctions among related but distinct concepts which are often blurred. That is, to what extent is crisis management, in which there is some degree of systems failure, related to emergency management, change management, and transformational leadership? How are these distinctions illustrated at a competency level? The findings indicate that senior emergency managers in administrative leadership positions do not abandon emergency management practices, but rather adapt them selectively. Change management is important, but it must be targeted and time sensitive. Crises are no time to reorganize adequately operating response systems, much less try to implement wholesale organizational changes. Finally, while some of the commonly associated features of transformational leadership do apply, such as self-confidence and decisiveness, others are conspicuously deemphasized, such as the ne...
143 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role of trust within one US federal agency, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), by examining the relationships among several managerial practices, trust, and employee attitudes, including employee satisfaction and organizational commitment.
Abstract: This research seeks to answer two questions. The first question is this: ‘Does trust matter for employee satisfaction and commitment?’ In the business management field, one can find many empirical studies investigating trust as a valuable resource within organizations. The public management field, however, has paid less attention to this issue. This research investigates the role of trust within one US federal agency, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), by examining the relationships among several managerial practices, trust, and employee attitudes, including employee satisfaction and organizational commitment. Related to this is our second research question: ‘How much is the effect of trust varied across different types of trust?’ There are multiple trust relationships within organizations, among which we consider three types of trust based on the referent: trust in the immediate supervisor; trust in co-workers; and trust in management. We test whether each trust has a positive associatio...
123 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the effects of a selection of antecedents that are commonly related to job satisfaction and found that respondents from different countries were found to share similarities in terms of what satisfies them in their jobs.
Abstract: What satisfies a public servant? Is it the money? Or is it something else, like an interesting and autonomous job, or serving the public interest? Utilizing non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program on Work Orientations across different countries for 1997 and 2005, this article examines the effects of a selection of antecedents that are commonly related to job satisfaction. The respondents from different countries were found to share similarities in terms of what satisfies them in their jobs. The emphasis placed on these factors was however found to vary for some countries.
118 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the drivers of total innovation and assess whether the factors influencing the most innovative localities are similar to or different from the factors impacting the low localities.
Abstract: Berry and Berry (1999, 2007) argue that diffusion of policy innovations is driven by learning, competition, public pressure or mandates from higher levels of authority. We undertake a first time analysis of this whole framework and present three sub-studies of innovation. First, we examine the drivers of total innovation. Second, we assess whether the factors influencing the most innovative localities are similar to or different from the factors impacting the low localities. Finally, we disaggregate total innovation into three different innovation types. Our findings, undertaken on a panel of English local governments over four years, reveal that a majority of the diffusion drivers from innovation and diffusion theory are indeed positively significant for total innovation. However, local authorities that adopt higher and lower levels of innovation than predicted do things differently while the framework has limited applicability to types of management innovation. We concluded that the Berry and B...
108 citations
TL;DR: The potential for the experimental method for public management has been explored in this article, where the authors discuss the benefits and costs of an experimental design and identify three barriers to the use of experiments distinctive to public management; a stress on realism and practical solutions; a focus on organizations rather than individuals; and ethical and logistical challenges.
Abstract: Although there has been a ‘dramatic drift’ towards experimentation in political science, the methodology remains scarce in public management research. This article considers the potential for the experimental method for public management. It discusses the benefits and costs of an experimental design. It identifies three barriers to the use of experiments distinctive to public management; a stress on realism and practical solutions; a focus on organizations rather than individuals; and ethical and logistical challenges. It re-evaluates these barriers in the light of recent experiments, arguing that experimental approaches should now be added to the toolkit of public management research.
107 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a validated typology of unethical behaviors, i.e., integrity violations, which reveal insightful variation in the frequency and acceptability of these violations but also show how leadership styles and organizational culture have varying effects on these different unethical behaviors.
Abstract: To develop governance that is both effective and ethical, scholars study the causes and effects of unethical behavior as well as the policies and systems that thwart such behavior. However, there is much inconsistency and incoherence in the demarcation of different types of unethical behaviors. To enable conceptual clarity and improved measurement we present here a validated typology of unethical behaviors – that is, integrity violations. Differentiating between such types of violations not only reveals insightful variation in the frequency and acceptability of these violations but also shows how leadership styles and organizational culture have varying effects on these different unethical behaviors.
101 citations
TL;DR: This article reviewed twenty-eight hypothesis-driven empirical studies on this question and found significant individual-level differences between the two sectors, although not always in the expected direction, and recommended to test broader models in which sector is only one of a range of variables.
Abstract: Governmental, public-sector organizations are known to operate differently than private, for-profit organizations. But do sector differences exist at the individual level as well? In this article we review twenty-eight hypothesis-driven empirical studies on this question. Most of the single studies found significant individual-level differences between the two sectors, although not always in the expected direction. After showing the limited available evidence, we criticize this line of inquiry and recommend to: (1) test broader models in which sector is only one of a range of variables; (2) enhance refinement in the use of research methods; and (3) improve the theoretical underpinning
100 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify the cited works and authors (intellectual structure) in the published research on PPPs and define the subfields that constitute the intellectual structure of PPP research fields.
Abstract: Public–private partnerships (or PPPs) encompass a broad spectrum of public sector infrastructure and service initiatives. Recently, some scholars have undertaken literature review studies of the various definitions of the concept of PPPs and its research traditions, identifying several distinct PPP research approaches. This article aims to: (1) enhance the findings of these literature reviews; (2) identify the cited works and authors (intellectual structure) in the published research on PPPs; (3) define the subfields that constitute the intellectual structure of PPP research fields. The methodology is based on the bibliometric techniques of citation and author co-citation analysis applied to published research on PPPs included in the Social Science Citation Index.
97 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the underlying dynamics that shape implementation activities and show substantial differences between the cases in regard to implementation success which can be attributed to the different case studies.
Abstract: In order to meet the needs of their multiple stakeholders, public sector organizations are increasingly asked to improve the efficiency and quality of their services. With this respect, the implementation of innovations has been advocated as a means to accomplish this challenging task. Empirical evidence reveals, however, that organizations frequently struggle to implement innovations or fail to achieve the intended benefits of adopted innovations. Despite widespread interest in this issue, the literature does not provide convincing explanations as to why this occurs, with implementation processes largely treated as a ‘black box' in existing research. This article addresses this research gap by analyzing the underlying dynamics that shape implementation activities. A multiple case study design is used to research into the implementation of a process innovation in five public hospitals. The findings show substantial differences between the cases in regard to implementation success which can be att...
90 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a number of perspectives on how to deal with value conflicts in different administrative settings and contexts, with the assumption that value conflicts are prevalent, the public context can be characterized by value pluralism, and instrumental rationality does not seem to be the most useful to understand or improve value conflicts.
Abstract: The main objective of the article is to review relevant literature on (competing) public values in public management and to present a number of perspectives on how to deal with value conflicts in different administrative settings and contexts. We start this symposium with the assumption that value conflicts are prevalent, the public context can be characterized by value pluralism, and instrumental rationality does not seem to be the most useful to understand or improve value conflicts in public governance. This begs the question: what is the best way to study and manage value conflicts? The contributions to this symposium issue approach value conflicts in public governance from different perspectives, within different countries and different administrative and management systems, hoping to contribute to the debate on how to deal with important yet conflicting public values in public management, without pretending to offer a conclusive strategy or approach.This introductory article also presents a...
TL;DR: In this article, seven hypotheses are deduced on conditions that politicians can use to build trust: autonomy, contacts, policy involvement, involvement in the design of monitoring devices, and involvement in designing monitoring devices.
Abstract: Agencification has extended and intensified the delegation problem. It has created new (administrative) principals, who are confronted with even more uncertainty as agents operate at arm's length. Trust is suggested as a new mode of governance. Based on the literature seven hypotheses are deduced on conditions that politicians can use to build trust: autonomy; contacts; policy involvement; and involvement in the design of monitoring devices. These hypotheses are tested using survey data on 219 Dutch executive agencies. Contrary to the expectations, executive agencies with low degrees of autonomy have a more trusting relationship with their parent ministry than agencies with high autonomy. Proximity and frequent interactions appear more important to trust than autonomy. Monitoring is not always perceived as a sign of distrust. These findings raise new questions on how principals can reduce the delegation problem and control executive agencies.
TL;DR: The authors reviewed ninety-two studies of public service performance and analyzed the impact of management on both administrative and survey measures of performance, finding that administrative data typically reflect the performance judgements of government and regulators, while survey data reflect those of citizens, service users and public managers.
Abstract: We review ninety-two studies of public service performance, and analyse in detail those that model the impact of management on both administrative and survey measures of performance Our review indicates that administrative data typically reflect the performance judgements of government and regulators, while survey data reflect those of citizens, service users and public managers Analysis of the eleven articles that use administrative and survey performance measures reveals limited differences in the impact of management variables on both types of performance measure However, management variables appear to have a stronger link with the performance judgements of service consumers than managers themselves
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the obvious substantive interpretation of serving the general interest is at odds with public service motivation being predominantly applied instrumentally, as a means to attain employee and organizational performance.
Abstract: The motivation of civil servants to serve the public has gained considerable attention among public administration scholars and practitioners. The obvious substantive interpretation of serving the general interest is at odds with public service motivation being predominantly applied instrumentally, as a means to attain employee and organizational performance. There is a comparable situation with the oath of office, which can be regarded as a highly symbolic indicator for civil service motivation as such. The oath of office is regarded predominantly as an integrity tool, at the expense of its embedded substantive meanings. We will argue that in both cases there is a risk for a blind spot for adverse effects, that is, unwanted outcomes and the annihilation of exactly the social significance of the phenomenon in question. The lesson is that public service motivation has to be analyzed from a more encompassing perspective, acknowledging the interlocking of instrumental usage and substantive meaning. ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors adopt an explorative design to study the different types of environmental actors in the networks of nine colleges for nursing studies in the Netherlands, and apply a typology of environmental ties to the nine cases.
Abstract: The literature on network management in the public sector reports positive effects of network activity on agency performance. Current studies show however no differences between specific types of contacts in an agency's environment. The present article adopts an explorative design to study the different types of environmental actors in the networks of nine colleges for nursing studies in the Netherlands. A typology of environmental ties is introduced, and applied to the nine cases. It appears that contacts to different types of actors reflect different levels of ambition in the network management of the colleges. The level of ambition in network management appears to be associated with two indicators for college performance: it is positively associated with diploma rate, and negatively associated with drop-out rates among freshmen. These results are discussed with reference to the current literature in public network management.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider two cases of Web 2.0 driven micro-mobilization processes and show that new network technology helped the process of issue-expansion on which the emergence of these strategic surprises is dependent.
Abstract: New social network technology (Web 2.0) provides individuals and small groups with powerful resources for rapid political mobilization. This can create strategic surprises to policy-makers. Two cases of Web 2.0 driven micro-mobilization processes are considered. In both cases, new network technology helped the process of issue-expansion on which the emergence of these strategic surprises is dependent. Policy-makers were taken by surprise because their repertoires of action are focused primarily on official arrangements of consultation and on the news coverage by traditional media. Policy-makers' capacities and resources are not attuned to the political use of network technology by citizens.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore local governments' approaches to the political control of such companies and observe a reluctance to intervene directly in the affairs of an enterprise, but there is a last-resort preparedness to take more resolute action.
Abstract: A number of European countries have witnessed a proliferation of local government enterprises in recent years. Norwegian local councillors are seemingly particularly exposed to this ‘enterprise fever’. Our article explores local governments' approaches to the political control of such companies. We observe a reluctance to intervene directly in the affairs of an enterprise, but there is a last-resort preparedness to take more resolute action. Lastly, in contrast to what the prototypical agency model postulates, we find that those who attach strong aspirations of increased capacity to the establishment of companies appear to lack trust in the same companies' performance capability.
TL;DR: In this article, the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) namely mobile phones in support of citizen agency and its potential in calling authorities to account was investigated in Eastern Africa and they used a mixed methodology to explore the current uses of ICT to strengthen accountability and to forecast the growth of mobile phones' adaption in that region.
Abstract: We investigated the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT, namely mobile phones) in support of citizen agency and its potential in calling authorities to account. We focused on Eastern Africa and we used a mixed methodology, which allowed us to explore the current uses of ICT to strengthen accountability and to forecast the growth of mobile phones' adaption in that region. Evidence from both analyses suggests that there are two main areas where citizen agency and ICT can reinforce each other in bottom–up and horizontal processes: participation and engagement of citizens, and the diffusion of information.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the value of trustworthiness of supervisors within US federal agencies, and found that trustworthiness has positive associations with employee satisfaction and cooperation within work units.
Abstract: This study examines the value of trustworthiness of supervisors within US federal agencies. Although public administration scholars have paid attention to trust as a managerial resource, more empirical evidence is still needed. The authors test whether perceived trustworthiness of supervisors works as a valuable managerial resource within federal agencies. Following Mayer et al. (1995), this study assumes trustworthiness as a multi-dimensional concept composed of ability, benevolence and integrity. Drawing on data from a large-scale survey of US federal employees, the research first tests whether these factors constitute the elements of supervisory trustworthiness of federal agencies by second-order confirmatory factor analysis. Then, using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, the research examines whether trustworthiness has positive associations with employee satisfaction and cooperation within work units. The analyses confirm that the three factors constitute trustworthiness as Mayer et al...
TL;DR: This article identified a number of parallels between nineteenth-century philanthropy and contemporary social work that have so far received little attention in the ongoing debate on the relation between philanthropy between modern welfare.
Abstract: This article identifies a number of parallels between nineteenth-century philanthropy and contemporary social work that have so far received little attention in the ongoing debate on the relation between philanthropy and modern welfare. While adopting a critical perspective on social philanthropy, it does not take a definitive stance on the question of whether philanthropy cements marginality or constitutes a progressive agent for social change. Philanthropy's role in social policy can hardly be generalized across time and space; instead, its strategic functions must be examined in specific societies and at specific historical junctures. For this purpose the question of the relationship between philanthropy and modern welfare is re-formulated using Foucault's concept of ‘dispositive’. A series of decisive inventions that emerged from nineteenth-century poor relief are identified. Most importantly, the philanthropists gave twentieth-century social policy a recipient who is not a subject of formal ...
TL;DR: This paper examined how senior staff in English educational and health service organizations view themselves as leaders who are "change agents" for government-driven reform and independent change agendas, and explored the contribution of external leadership development provision to shaping these self-perceptions.
Abstract: This article examines how far senior staff in English educational and health service organizations view themselves as leaders who are ‘change agents’ for government-driven reform and independent change agendas. The contribution of external leadership development provision to shaping these self-perceptions is explored. Special attention is paid to national leadership development bodies with different degrees of formal association with government. Whatever this relationship, such provision and other development support apparently reinforced a strong sense of personal agency (choice of action) associated with being a leader, empowering senior staff to adopt a modestly mediatory stance towards both reform and leadership development provision.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors outline a move away from ethnography as participant observation of micro process in spatially bounded settings, and suggest that work in contemporary organizations is embedded in relationships that cross boundaries, and relationships are not just between people, but also between people and human artefacts such as IT systems.
Abstract: Ethnography in the study of public service organizations is gaining acceptance, but the practice of ethnography is changing in line with epistemological concerns and new organizational realities. We outline a move away from ethnography as participant observation of micro process in spatially bounded settings. Work in contemporary organizations is embedded in relationships that cross boundaries, and relationships are not just between people, but also between people and human artefacts such as IT systems. ‘Multi-sited’ ethnography is an approach to understand and manage ‘the organization’ as connections, disruptions and fluid boundaries. Implications for ethnography's contributions to multi-disciplinary organizational research are suggested.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the changes in the locus and incidence of corruption in public procurement during accession to the EU, drawing on the experience of Bulgaria, using survey data and bottom-up estimate of the cost of corruption, and found that Bulgaria's accession marked a shift of corruption upwards from the middle-expert to the high-political level of public management with better structured political-business networks and increased cost to society.
Abstract: The study examines the changes in the locus and incidence of corruption in public procurement during accession to the EU, drawing on the experience of Bulgaria. Using survey data and bottom–up estimate of the cost of corruption, it finds that Bulgaria's accession to the EU marked a shift of corruption upwards from the middle (expert) to the high (political) level of public management with better structured political-business networks and increased cost to society. At the same time control is moving to lower-value contracts. In this context the article discusses the limitations of procurement regulations to deter grand corruption and draws attention to checks and balances in the political setting, which shapes the public–private interface.
TL;DR: The varying relations between philanthropy and governments, sometimes marginal, sometimes central, provide the context for the papers in this special edition of PMR as mentioned in this paper, highlighting the importance of realism in assessing what philanthropy can achieve collaboratively, and the need for caution when examining current trends of governments' enchantment with philanthropy.
Abstract: The varying relations between philanthropy and governments, sometimes marginal, sometimes central, provide the context for the papers in this special edition of PMR. From welfare states' assumptions about philanthropy's death, to its looked-for resurgence in post-welfare states, the interrelations between philanthropic and governmental organisations continue to challange academics and practitioners alike. Reflecting on the deepening and shifting arguments about the roles of philanthropy, the editors highlight the importance of realism in assessing what philanthropy and governments can achieve collaboratively, and the need for caution when examining current trends of governments' enchantment with philanthropy.
TL;DR: This paper investigated the role of private philanthropic foundations that co-operate with public actors in school improvement partnerships and concluded that an important function of such arrangements is the generation of legitimacy in case of successful failure.
Abstract: The public school systems of both Germany and the United States face environmental pressures to provide better and more equitable results, while at the same time they are criticized for high degrees of bureaucracy and structural inertia. Public–private partnerships are frequently praised for their potential to provide a remedy to these deficits. In this article, I investigate the role of private philanthropic foundations that co-operate with public actors in school improvement partnerships. Drawing on institutional theory and empirical data derived from the exploratory research project ‘Strategies for Impact in Education’, the article concludes that an important function of such arrangements is the generation of legitimacy in case of ‘successful failure’.
TL;DR: In this article, a survey was carried out on executive directors in two groups of social services nonprofits in the UK and Japan to shed new light on the relationship between accountability and ethical climate in the nonprofit sector.
Abstract: In a study aimed at shedding new light on the relationship between accountability and ethical climate in the nonprofit sector, a survey was carried out on executive directors in two groups of social services nonprofits in the UK and Japan. A close relationship was found between the way in which they perceived statutory accountability demands and their ability to identify downward accountability mechanisms and ethical climate in relation to ‘independence’ and ‘law and codes’. These findings provide a preliminary insight into the differences in the relationship between nonprofit organizations and government in the two countries.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that there is a tension between the Big Society's emphasis on citizen empowerment and the nature of emerging philanthropic relationships, and they identify three types of philanthropic relationship in the UK: (1) donor intermediary, (2) donor exclusive, and (3) donor oversight.
Abstract: In the UK, the Big Society programme seeks to encourage philanthropic giving. However, I argue that there is a tension between the Big Society's emphasis on citizen empowerment and the nature of emerging philanthropic relationships. Drawing upon a framework developed by Susan Ostrander (2007), this article maps and analyses three types of philanthropic relationships in the UK: (1) donor-intermediary; (2) donor exclusive; and (3) donor oversight. Analysing these philanthropic relationships is salient as it draws attention to the role of philanthropy in the reshaping of the relationship between state, market and civil society in the context of the Big Society.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the management of the aftermath of two crises (a tornado that hit a part of Birmingham in the UK, and a fireworks explosion in the city of Enschede in The Netherlands) in order to understand how local institutions and communities deal with (sudden) disorder and how they restore social order.
Abstract: The management of cities has to address new risks, insecurities and emergencies. In this article we analyse the management of the aftermath of two crises – a tornado that hit a part of Birmingham in the UK, and a fireworks explosion that hit a part of the city of Enschede in The Netherlands – in order to understand how local institutions and communities deal with (sudden) disorder and how they restore social order. We do not see this as ‘crisis management’, however, as the management of disorder and renewal will be related to the capacity of public management in everyday and orderly circumstances. Cities have to manage dispersed public and private acts, and these may be the sources of both problems and solutions in the face of disorder, depending on how they are inflected. We therefore wonder whether and how cities help constitute public spaces through which publics can be effectively engaged in the process of restoration and renewal. Managerial templates must be made meaningful not only after, b...
TL;DR: The findings suggest that the increasing procedures and tools used by local authorities to engage stakeholders do not necessarily lead to more positive experiences of the latter and highlight the inadequacy of a compliance culture in public services.
Abstract: This research examines the experience of stakeholders of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). The local authorities’ accounts of engaging stakeholders are compared against the stakeholders’ experience of being engaged. The findings suggest that the increasing procedures and tools used by local authorities to engage stakeholders do not necessarily lead to more positive experiences of the latter. Some stakeholders perceive engagement as merely an exercise by the local authorities to comply with central government policy guidelines and the stakeholders’ views have not had substantial impact on the overall decision-making process. The findings highlight the inadequacy of a compliance culture in public services.