Iris Seidemann, Kristina S. Weißmüller, Daniel Geiger
{"title":"The Downward Spiral of Legitimacy Erosion: Lessons on Network Governance Failure During the German “Refugee Crisis”","authors":"Iris Seidemann, Kristina S. Weißmüller, Daniel Geiger","doi":"10.1111/puar.70008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.70008","url":null,"abstract":"Organizational legitimacy is essential for effective crisis governance. This study analyzes the rapid erosion of legitimacy faced by the German State Office for Health and Social Affairs (LAGeSo) during the 2015 refugee crisis, triggering cascading failures in public service delivery. Analyzing news articles and press statements, the study traces stakeholders' interactions with the LAGeSo, reconstructing key events and reactions to identify critical public governance failures. The findings show that a lack of network governance and anticipatory leadership contributed to a self‐reinforcing process of legitimacy erosion, which culminated in organizational collapse. The case demonstrates that public sector crisis management requires more than technical responses; it demands strategic awareness of legitimacy dynamics and strong leadership in network governance. Adopting a legitimacy‐as‐process perspective, the study provides novel conceptual and practical insights for improving public crisis governance.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"71 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144594479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Public Encounters and Government Chatbots: When Servers Talk to Citizens","authors":"Art Alishani, Vincent Homburg, Ott Velsberg","doi":"10.1111/puar.70005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.70005","url":null,"abstract":"Public service providers around the world are now offering chatbots to answer citizens' questions and deliver digital services. Using these artificial intelligence‐powered technologies, citizens can engage in conversations with governments through systems that mimic face‐to‐face interactions and adjust their use of natural language to citizens' communication styles. This paper examines emerging experiences with chatbots in government interactions, with a focus on exploring what public administration practitioners and scholars should expect from chatbots in public encounters. Furthermore, it seeks to identify what gaps exist in the general understanding of digital public encounters.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"72 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144566515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Public Managers and Wicked Problems of Advancing Social Equity","authors":"Thomas H. Stanton, Malcolm K. Oliver","doi":"10.1111/puar.70006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.70006","url":null,"abstract":"Over 50 years ago, Rittel and Webber published their seminal article on “wicked” problems that generate second‐order effects that often limit or defeat ambitious initiatives. The Rittel‐Webber model, in all of the 10 distinguishing characteristics they specified, closely fits dilemmas of public managers seeking to advance social equity. Analyzing the experiences of U.S. public sector social equity initiatives through the Rittel‐Webber lens provides lessons about the wickedness of problems of advancing social equity, and also about approaches to increase the chances of success. Taking multiple systematic smaller steps can be more effective and sustainable than a single large initiative. A systematic all‐of‐government approach also might achieve significant progress in advancing social equity. To advance social equity, public managers must consider multiple stakeholder perspectives, and in today's environment of polarization and heightened partisanship, they ignore lessons from the Rittel‐Webber framework at their peril.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144566517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pathways to Climate Adaptation Policy Adoption by Local Governments","authors":"Jieun Kim","doi":"10.1111/puar.70007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.70007","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the role of public support, climate risks, and local government capacity in the adoption of innovative climate adaptation measures, such as nature‐based solutions (NBS; e.g., green infrastructure, urban greening initiatives). I collected climate policy documents from 20 US cities published after 2010 to investigate whether each city has adopted NBS in its climate plans. Using qualitative comparative analysis, I found that: (1) high public support alone is neither necessary nor sufficient for NBS adoption, (2) high public support and high climate risk can jointly promote NBS adoption, (3) when public support or climate risk are low, high local government capacity alone can sufficiently enable NBS adoption. This paper ends with a discussion of how local governments prioritize resources and efforts to strengthen their resilience to the impacts of climate change.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144565752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Public Administration in the New Reality. By AlikhanBaimenov and PanosLiverakos (eds.), Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2025. 340 pp. ISBN: 978‐9‐81‐963844‐4 (hardcover); 978‐9‐81‐963847‐5 (softcover); 978‐9‐81‐963845‐1 (ebook)","authors":"Chester A. Newland","doi":"10.1111/puar.13969","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13969","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144534077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Adrienne Davidson, Elizabeth Dhuey, Michal Perlman, Jamie Waese‐Perlman, Linda A. White
{"title":"Are Citizens Responsive to the Regulatory State? The Effect of Regulation on Evaluations of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)","authors":"Adrienne Davidson, Elizabeth Dhuey, Michal Perlman, Jamie Waese‐Perlman, Linda A. White","doi":"10.1111/puar.70001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.70001","url":null,"abstract":"Public service delivery has increasingly involved mixed markets, with for‐profit, not‐for‐profit, and government‐delivered programs. In such contexts, regulation can protect the public interest by enhancing safety, expanding consumer choice, or improving the quality of goods or services. In this article, we explore how citizens experience varying regulated markets, and whether regulatory stringency shapes citizen perceptions of service quality in the context of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in the United States. We rely on automated textual analysis of online Google reviews of ECEC alongside a dataset of state policy stringency that tracks whether states allow for unlicensed care environments. Using a regression discontinuity design to test the impact of regulatory systems on reviews of care, we find evidence that parents in states with less stringent regulations are more likely to post negative reviews and express anger and anxiety, relative to parents in states with robust regulatory regimes.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144547189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emotions and Reputation Learning by Audience Networks: A Research Agenda in Bureaucratic Politics","authors":"Moshe Maor, Dovilė Rimkutė, Tereza Capelos","doi":"10.1111/puar.70004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.70004","url":null,"abstract":"Audiences that observe and interact with government agencies play a crucial role in shaping these agencies' reputations. However, existing research often treats these audience networks as monolithic, overlooking the inherent diversity in their cognitive and emotional processing of reputational information. This approach fails to account for the variations in how audiences experience and evaluate agencies. To address this gap, we propose a new research agenda focused on the role of emotions in bureaucratic politics. We introduce a novel theoretical framework of <jats:italic>Reputation Learning</jats:italic>, informed by Affect‐as‐Information Theory and Affective Intelligence Theory, to explore the downstream effects of emotions as <jats:italic>content</jats:italic> and as <jats:italic>process</jats:italic> in shaping judgment formation and information processing. Specifically, we identify emotion‐based components of bureaucratic reputation and examine how emotions influence audience decision‐making processes and perceptions of government agencies. We conclude by outlining four key contributions of this framework to advancing the study of emotions in bureaucratic politics.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144534076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From Wording to Workforce: Gendered Language in Public Job Advertisements Shapes Gender Diversity in Applicant Pools","authors":"Martin Sievert, Dominik Vogel, Matthias Döring","doi":"10.1111/puar.13965","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13965","url":null,"abstract":"Gender imbalance in public sector hiring remains a persistent concern, yet research often overlooks how job advertisement features influence applicant self‐selection. Thus, we focus on gender sorting in the public labor market, a mechanism potentially causing structural self‐selection among job seekers. The study investigates how gender sorting affects applicant pools by examining <jats:italic>gendered language</jats:italic> and the <jats:italic>gender of the contact person</jats:italic> in job advertisements. We empirically test these mechanisms using a unique multi‐source dataset consisting of actual job advertisements, a survey among recruiters issuing these job advertisements, and organization‐level data (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 1859). We obtain measures for gendered language using quantitative text analysis. Results from hierarchical linear models indicate that more feminine wording relates to a higher number and share of applications by women. Our research contributes to the literature, testing why women may apply less for some public sector jobs. The implications for research and policymakers and emphasize the relevance of gender sorting mechanisms in recruiting.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"61 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144513257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How Revenue Sources Impact Nonprofit Advocacy: Complementary, Supplementary, and Adversarial Policy Engagement","authors":"Mirae Kim, Heather MacIndoe, Lewis Faulk","doi":"10.1111/puar.13963","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13963","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines how revenue sources influence nonprofit policy engagement. Drawing on resource dependence theory and nonprofit‐government relationship perspectives, we categorize 19 forms of engagement into three types: (1) Complementary Partnerships, (2) Supplementary Contributions, and (3) Adversarial Influence on Government. Results show that the share of government funding is positively associated with these three forms of policy engagement. Also, we distinguish between non‐lobbying advocacy and legislative lobbying, revealing distinct funding patterns. Our expanded models further highlight that access to key funding sources, especially government funding, matters more for advocacy than the extent of reliance on them. These findings emphasize the need for more nuanced measures of nonprofit policy engagement to deepen our understanding of how funding structures shape nonprofit‐government interactions.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144513284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"When the Feds Hand You a “Light Envelope”: Exploring the Impact of the Federal Budget Sequester on the Build America Bond Program","authors":"Martin J. Luby, Catherine Holley, Celine Kim","doi":"10.1111/puar.13964","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13964","url":null,"abstract":"In 2009, the US federal government created the Build America Bond (BAB) program to improve access to the capital markets for state and local governments. While the federal government typically subsidizes subnational capital financing indirectly through tax exemption, the BAB program provided direct cash subsidies to governments. The Budget Control Act of 2011 implemented a sequester that reduced BAB subsidies by 5.7 to 8.7% each year since 2013. This paper estimates previous and potential future sequestration losses on all outstanding BABs as of the end of 2022. It delves into BAB use and sequestration by two issuers (governments in the state of Texas and City of Chicago). The paper concludes with a discussion of the current state of BABs as it relates to recent litigation and refinancing attempts. The loss estimates provide lessons for the provision and management of federal direct subsidies available to state and local governments.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144311784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}