Symbolic Effect of Bureaucratic Representation Under Labor Shortage

IF 4.2 3区管理学 Q1 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Review of Public Personnel Administration Pub Date : 2025-06-02 DOI:10.1177/0734371x251337430

Fangda Ding

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The idea of symbolic representation suggests bureaucratic representativeness can enhance citizens’ willingness to coproduce public services, though this effect is not always observed in real settings. While scholars have explored boundary conditions for limited effects of symbolic representation on coproduction, they typically assume fully staffed bureaucracies. How personnel status variations within representative bureaucracy affect represented citizens’ perceptions and their willingness to engage in coproduction is still unknown. This study examines how labor shortage in representative bureaucracy may shape the effect of symbolic representation on coproduction. Using rational choice and compassion theories, it develops competing hypotheses regarding the interaction between labor shortage and symbolic representation in shaping citizen coproduction and tests them through a survey experiment in the context of female bureaucratic representation and domestic violence. The perceived labor shortage is found to mitigate the positive effect of symbolic representation on women’s coproduction willingness, but only for the simplest coproduction activity.

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劳动力短缺下官僚代表性的象征效应

象征性代表性的概念表明，官僚代表性可以增强公民共同提供公共服务的意愿，尽管这种效果在现实环境中并不总是被观察到。虽然学者们已经探索了象征性代表对合作生产的有限影响的边界条件，但他们通常假设官僚机构人手充足。代议制官僚机构内部的人员地位变化如何影响被代表公民的看法和他们参与合作生产的意愿仍然未知。本研究探讨了代议制官僚机构的劳动力短缺如何影响象征性代表对合作生产的影响。本文运用理性选择和同情理论，提出了关于劳动力短缺和象征性表征在塑造公民合作生产中的相互作用的竞争性假设，并通过女性官僚表征和家庭暴力背景下的调查实验对这些假设进行了检验。研究发现，感知到的劳动力短缺会减弱象征性表征对女性合作生产意愿的积极影响，但仅适用于最简单的合作生产活动。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Review of Public Personnel Administration PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION-

CiteScore

9.70

自引率

7.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Review of Public Personnel Administration publishes articles that reflect the varied approaches and methodologies used in the study and practice of public human resources management and labor.