Showing papers in "The American Review of Public Administration in 2012"
TL;DR: In this paper, the most important issues, concepts, and ideas in collaborative public management research and practice are analyzed, and the issues and concepts are (a) competing definitions of...
Abstract: This article analyzes the most important issues, concepts, and ideas in collaborative public management research and practice today. The issues, concepts, and ideas are (a) competing definitions of...
363 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the shortcomings of the model of practice as applied knowledge that they have dubbed the Received View and propose a relational conception of practice, knowledge, and context.
Abstract: The topic of the article is practice theory. Using a detailed example from public administration, we first discus the shortcomings of the model of practice as applied knowledge that we have dubbed the Received View. The first half of the article is a chronology of successive adaptations of the Received View. These adaptations have gradually brought the Received View more in accordance with the practice-oriented critique in social theory and research of recent years. These adaptations fall short, however, of offering a theoretical account that explains the relationships among practice, knowledge, and context. These adaptations do not enable us to show, as we wish to do, how knowledge and context can be explained in terms of—and are evoked within—practice, and not the other way round—and that this transpires within real worlds each of which has its own unique constraints and affordances, histories and futures. In the second half of the article, we pick up on a relational conception of practice, knowledge, a...
145 citations
TL;DR: Although work-related duties are performed via teleworking in all sectors, the U.S. federal government has taken the lead in offering telework arrangements to its employees; thereby causing a pro
Abstract: Although work-related duties are performed via teleworking in all sectors, the U.S. federal government has taken the lead in offering telework arrangements to its employees; thereby causing a proli...
119 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the characteristics of municipal governments that are related to the implementation of innovative practices and conclude that form of government remains an important variable to consider when investigating local government management and performance.
Abstract: Using data on the adoption of e-government, reinventing government, and strategic practices, and the Nelson and Svara (2010) typology of municipal government form, the authors investigate the characteristics of municipal governments that are related to the implementation of innovative practices. The authors find that higher innovation rates are associated with council-manager governments—both with and without an elected mayor, higher population, greater growth, lower unemployment, sunbelt location, and higher population density. Controlling for all other variables, form of government (and variations within form) account for the greatest explanation of the adoption of innovative practices in municipalities. The authors conclude that form of government remains an important variable to consider when investigating local government management and performance.
103 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine differences between public and nonprofit employees' volunteering focusing on the types of organizations where they volunteer and find that non-profits are more likely to volunteer in religious and social/community organizations, whereas public workers are more often involved in educational organizations.
Abstract: Research finds the behavioral implications of public service motivation (PSM) in prosocial behaviors such as volunteering, and explains the higher rate of volunteering among public and nonprofit workers with PSM. Although existing research focuses on the link between employee’s PSM and general volunteering, little is known about how workers’ volunteering activities differ across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. This study examines differences between public and nonprofit employees’ volunteering focusing on the types of organizations where they volunteer. The results indicate distinctive patterns of volunteering between public and nonprofit sector workers: Nonprofit workers are more likely to volunteer in religious and social/community organizations, whereas public workers are more likely to volunteer in educational organizations. The findings of this study call for a more systematic and multifaceted approach to understanding the link between PSM and volunteering.
87 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the validity of satisfaction surveys as a measure of government performance, particularly in comparison with more objective official measures, and conclude that public school parents form their satisfaction judgment in ways that correspond fairly closely with officially measured school performance.
Abstract: The public administration literature has consistently questioned the validity of satisfaction surveys as a measure of government performance, particularly in comparison with more objective official measures. The authors examine this objective-subjective debate using unique data from a large survey distributed to nearly 1 million parents of children in the New York City public schools along with officially reported measures of school performance for about 900 schools. Their results suggest that the official measures of school performance are significant and important predictors of aggregate parental satisfaction, even after controlling for school and student characteristics. They conclude that public school parents form their satisfaction judgment in ways that correspond fairly closely with officially measured school performance. The results can also be interpreted as suggesting that the official performance measures reflect, at least in part, aspects of public schooling that matter to parents.
80 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a link between social trust and institutional trust has been established, and the authors test whether institutional trust is dependent on citizens' perceptions of how well institutions live up to normative expectations held by the public.
Abstract: This article analyzes trust in public institutions. In both theoretical literature and empirical research, a link between social trust and institutional trust has been established. Our aim is to cast additional light on this relationship. In particular, we test whether institutional trust is dependent on citizens’ perceptions of how well institutions live up to normative expectations held by the public. The focus on such normative expectations, such as incorruptibility and honesty, is different from much of the previous empirical work which often predominantly focuses on policy outputs, such as economic performance, as a determinant of political support. Two main hypotheses derived from the theoretical discussion are tested in the analysis: Generalized social trust is positively associated with institutional trust (Hypothesis 1) and Institutional trust depends on people’s perceptions of the extent to which institutions live up to such normative expectations as incorruptibility and honesty (Hypothesis 2). ...
77 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated the influence of emotional labor on job satisfaction and burnout across a range of public service occupations, and found that emotional work increases job satisfaction as well as burnout and emotive skills lead to an upsurge in job satisfaction.
Abstract: In this article we investigate the influence of emotional labor on job satisfaction and burnout across a range of public service occupations. While prior studies in this genre have primarily focused on human services, occupations in this analysis range from routine clerical interactions to emotionally intense first-responder jobs. Despite this range, structural equation modeling shows that (a) emotion work increases job satisfaction as well as burnout; (b) emotive skills lead to an upsurge in job satisfaction and are inversely associated with burnout; and (c) the deleterious effect of emotional labor mainly occurs not with its performance, per se, but when workers must fake their feelings. It is this circumstance that produces an elevated risk of burnout.
68 citations
TL;DR: The fiscal crisis encountered by state-local governments since 2008 has again made prominent the issue of how to better prepare for and stabilize expenditures during recessions as mentioned in this paper. But does the stabilizat...
Abstract: The fiscal crisis encountered by state-local governments since 2008 has again made prominent the issue of how to better prepare for and stabilize expenditures during recessions. Does the stabilizat...
58 citations
TL;DR: Work attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, etc.) have long been important indicators for managers and researchers in evaluating whether one is motivated to work as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Work attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, etc.) have long been important indicators for managers and researchers in evaluating whether one is motivated to ...
53 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the main determinants of organizational trust, as identified in the relevant literature, are cognition-based (i.e., rational) trust and affect-based trust.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to probe the main determinants of organizational trust, as identified in the relevant literature: cognition-based (i.e., rational) trust and affect-based (i.e., relatio...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on collaborative relationships between contractors and government agencies and explore which contract characteristics, contractor traits, and environmental factors are associa-tional factors.
Abstract: This article focuses on collaborative relationships between contractors and government agencies and explores which contract characteristics, contractor traits, and environmental factors are associa...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the alternative mechanisms within the public sector that compensate for this dispersion of expertise, focusing on knowledge sharing across public DNA forensics laboratories, and propose that the emergence of informal interpersonal networks plays an important role in providing access to necessary expertise within a highly decentralized system.
Abstract: How do public administrators find information about the problems they confront at work? In particular, how and when do they reach across organizational boundaries to find answers? There are substantial potential obstacles to such searches for answers, especially in a system of decentralized governance such as the U.S. government. In this article, we examine the alternative mechanisms within the public sector that compensate for this dispersion of expertise, focusing on knowledge sharing across public DNA forensics laboratories. In particular, we propose that the emergence of informal interpersonal networks plays an important role in providing access to necessary expertise within a highly decentralized system. Our findings point both to the need for further research on knowledge sharing networks within the public sector as well as practical implications around the value of investments into facilitating the creation and maintenance of networks of practice.
TL;DR: In this paper, an integrated model of local public network governance is presented that includes four contingency factors: the number of network participants, diversity of network members, degree of customizability of service demands, and number of new network participants.
Abstract: Local public networks can be governed in many different ways. Among scholars as well as among practitioners, there is some debate about the best approach. Based on literature, this article examines the relationship between local public network governance roles, contingency factors, and network performance in a theoretically informed way. Governance roles are positioned on a continuum from top-down (commissioner) to bottom-up (facilitator), with an intermediate area (coproducer). How governance roles influence the performance of local public networks is assumed to depend on contingency factors, which might explain the inconsistent results of studies examining this influence. An integrated model of local public network governance is presented that includes four contingency factors: the number of network participants, diversity of network members, degree of customizability of service demands, and the number of new network participants. The model can be applied to the heterogeneous contexts that local governm...
TL;DR: A large body of management research has linked participation by employees in organizational decision making to employee-level outcomes such as job satisfaction as mentioned in this paper, with nearly all studies finding posi cation finding positivity in these outcomes.
Abstract: A large body of management research has linked participation by employees in organizational decision making to employee-level outcomes such as job satisfaction, with nearly all studies finding posi...
TL;DR: The neoinstitutional theory of global ideas formulated by organization theory experts at Stanford University and also espoused by some Scandinavian researchers postulates a formalized, rationalized, and formalized...
Abstract: The neoinstitutional theory of global ideas formulated by organization theory experts at Stanford University and also espoused by some Scandinavian researchers postulates a formalized, rationalized...
TL;DR: The authors examined the influence of teacher and administrator representation by race and ethnicity on disciplinary tools and standardized test scores within traditional public elementary schools and found that teachers and administrators were disproportionately represented by people of color.
Abstract: The authors examine the influence of teacher and administrator representation by race and ethnicity on disciplinary tools and standardized test scores within traditional public elementary schools a...
TL;DR: This article examined the relationship between internal management performance and citizen satisfaction in the public sector and found that the level of citizen satisfaction that helped trigger improvements in management practices varies according to the type of service.
Abstract: This paper aims to examine the relationship between internal management performance and citizen satisfaction in the public sector. Top-down style evaluations emphasize improving the internal managerial performance of an agency, but few studies examine the relationship between the internal management of a governmental agency and citizen satisfaction. Our case study of government management in Seoul city attempts to fill this theoretical void by using data from the Seoul Service Index. The results demonstrate a positive correlation between management performance level and citizen satisfaction. We also found that the level of citizen satisfaction that helped trigger improvements in management practices varies according to the type of service. The implication of these results is that the managers of public organizations who wish to improve citizens’ satisfaction with the particular service offered by their organization must seek to strategically reform their bureaucracy’s internal management.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors tested the role of time in sector imprinting and found that time plays a decisive role in long-term changes in the sector comparison of companies' performance.
Abstract: Social phenomena often involve long-term changes, but most organizational studies focusing on sector comparison have not illuminated the decisive role that time plays. I tested “sector imprinting,”...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose six conditions that public managers must address in order to successfully outsource the contracting oversight function, and apply this framework to the case of Florida's experiment with contracting out financial and programmatic monitoring of outsourced child welfare services.
Abstract: How hollow government can go is a long-standing question that has not been fully answered. In particular, the literature has highlighted the importance of contracting monitoring, but has rarely examined whether or when this function can be successfully outsourced. Extending and integrating theoretic approaches that are relevant to government contracting, this article proposes six conditions that public managers must address in order to successfully outsource the contracting oversight function. The framework is then applied to the case of Florida’s experiment with contracting out financial and programmatic monitoring of outsourced child welfare services. The discontinued experiment in Florida illustrates the challenges that arise when outsourcing the contracting monitoring function in a politically charged environment.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors combine the two levels within one theoretical framework and derive hypotheses about network effects on organizational performance for each level of analysis, and test these hypotheses on a data set of five interorganizational networks in Dutch higher education, and show that intercollege networks with clear patterns of coordination have significantly more satisfied graduates than networks of colleges characterized by either highly dense or sparse relations.
Abstract: In the public management literature, network effects are studied primarily at two levels: (a) the level of the interorganizational network as a whole and (b) the level of individual organizations’ networking behavior. This article combines the two levels within one theoretical framework and derives hypotheses about network effects on organizational performance for each level of analysis. The hypotheses are tested on a data set of five interorganizational networks in Dutch higher education. Within these five intercollege networks, we study graduates’ satisfaction with the educational program offered by 91 colleges for cohorts in the years 2002 to 2005 (n = 18,159). The results show that intercollege networks with clear patterns of coordination have significantly more satisfied graduates than networks of colleges characterized by either highly dense or sparse relations. For individual colleges, the results indicate that colleges’ participation in subnetworks positively affects graduate satisfaction, whereas colleges’ networking activity (the number of relationships with other colleges) does not affect graduate satisfaction.
TL;DR: More attention must be given to the performance of interlocal agreements (ILAs) as they continue to grow in popularity as a mode of service provision in U.S. cities as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: More attention must be given to the performance of interlocal agreements (ILAs) as they continue to grow in popularity as a mode of service provision in U.S. cities. This study scrutinizes the demo...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate why cities use fiscal analyses such as costbenefit analysis and/or fiscal impact analysis to manage offers of economic development incentives to business and present an approach to understand economic development subsidies and control mechanisms that integrate political bargaining and network theories.
Abstract: This article investigates why cities use fiscal analyses such as cost–benefit analysis and/or fiscal impact analysis to manage offers of economic development incentives to business We advance an approach to understanding economic development subsidies and control mechanisms that integrate political bargaining and network theories Municipal bargaining power, institutional incentives, and organizational networks are hypothesized to influence development subsidy decisions The results confirm that local governments’ bargaining power and political institutions influence the degree to which cities use fiscal analyses In addition, public/private organizational networks that bridge public and private sectors by linking quasigovernmental organizations and local governments increase information and credibility thus leading to greater use of fiscal analyses
TL;DR: The tax and expenditure limitation movement of the late 1970s, and user charges have grown to become a major source of revenue for local governments as mentioned in this paper, and both theory and literature propose that...
Abstract: Spurred by the tax and expenditure limitation movement of the late 1970s, user charges have grown to become a major source of revenue for local governments. Both theory and literature propose that ...
TL;DR: The American counties are emerging as leaders in local governance and are being called on to provide a wide array of new services to an ever-growing population as mentioned in this paper, and they are acting as top...
Abstract: American counties are emerging as leaders in local governance. As such, they are being called on to provide a wide array of new services to an ever-growing population. County managers acting as top...
TL;DR: In this paper, a first look at election administration finance by examining election expenditures in California counties for fiscal years 1992 through 2008 using a public sector cost model is presented, showing that economies of scale and voting technology are significant determinants of election expenditures, as are other factors affecting the cost of the production of election administration.
Abstract: Over the past decade, the federal and state governments have made large financial investments to improve election administration, but there is little to no understanding of the real workings and implications of election administration finance. This article takes a first look at election administration finance by examining election expenditures in California counties for fiscal years 1992 through 2008 using a public sector cost model. Regression analysis shows that economies of scale and voting technology are significant determinants of election expenditures, as are other factors affecting the cost of the production of election administration. Factors that are expected to affect the demand for election administration are generally shown not to be significant. These results will hopefully be beneficial for policy makers as they face important decisions about changes in voting technology and election administration.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how the pay gap between men and women in the federal workforce changed over the period 1988-2007 and what factors contributed to the gender pay gap.
Abstract: This article examines how the pay gap between men and women in the federal workforce changed over the period 1988-2007 and what factors contributed to the pay gap. To do this, we use a decompositio...
TL;DR: Outsourcing public service provision to the private and nonprofit sectors has been well-documented and studied for over two decades as manifestations of the hollow state, but there is a relatively...
Abstract: Outsourcing public service provision to the private and nonprofit sectors has been well-documented and studied for over two decades as manifestations of the hollow state, but there is a relatively ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the potential challenges faced by states and municipalities in meeting their pension obligations and explore the cost and benefits of a switch from traditional defined benefit (DB) plans to defined contribution (DC) plans.
Abstract: Unfunded liabilities of pension plans sponsored by state and local governments have drastically increased in the past few years. This article examines the potential challenges faced by states and municipalities in meeting their pension obligations and explores the cost and benefits of a switch from traditional defined benefit (DB) plans to defined contribution (DC) plans. The authors draw on the experience of the private sector to depict the potential cost savings for governments and the likely impacts on employees. The authors also identify several issues that are unique to governments if a shift in pension coverage plans is to occur. One of the attractions of public sector employment has been the generous benefits offered; the authors examine whether it will be harder to recruit people in the public sector if the government does not offer DB pensions. The authors explore equity issues and the effects of eroding political support for public sector DB systems in light of their demise in the private sector...
TL;DR: In this paper, the reliability of tax-assessment data in a medium-sized American city (Louisville, Kentucky) has been examined and the effects of various neighborhood characteristics on the three property measures do not vary by measure.
Abstract: Ensuring accurate, unbiased residential property tax assessments is an important, and contentious, issue facing communities today, particularly in this era of fiscal and economic crisis. Furthermore, this question is critical because it involves important social justice issues. Past studies have shown inequities by race, class, and location with some neighborhoods paying more of their fair share in property taxes. This study looks at the reliability of tax-assessment data in a medium-sized American city—Louisville, Kentucky. In an effort to compare various housing data sources, this study contrasts three measures of neighborhood median housing value for 170 census tracts in Louisville in the year 2000: self-reported values (U.S. Census); sales prices (MLS); and tax assessments from the county’s property valuation administrator. We find that the effects of various neighborhood characteristics on the three property measures do not vary by measure. Furthermore, an assessments-to-sale ratio does not vary by t...