{"title":"First impressions: An analysis of professional stereotypes and their impact on sector attraction","authors":"Mette Jakobsen, Fabian Homberg","doi":"10.1111/puar.13900","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13900","url":null,"abstract":"Public sector professionals are often negatively portrayed with ascriptions such as “ineffective” and “lazy.” Such negative connotations might disadvantage public sector organizations when trying to attract applicants, as it can reflect negatively on individuals' social identities. With this pre-registered experimental study, we examine stereotypes of public and private sector workers with and without a signal of specific professions present across both the public and private sector. We examine how this influences attraction in the initial phases of a job search before tangible job attributes become visible. Our study among 290 job seeking citizens in the United Kingdom provides evidence for a generic public sector worker bias, but the bias diminishes when the specific profession is known. Furthermore, we find that job seekers are less attracted to public employment and that this relationship is influenced by a negativity bias against public sector workers. We discuss implications of the study.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"115 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142670379","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}
Chengxin Xu, Yuan (Daniel) Cheng, Shuping Wang, Weston Merrick, Patrick Carter
{"title":"Evaluating use of evidence in U.S. state governments: A conjoint analysis","authors":"Chengxin Xu, Yuan (Daniel) Cheng, Shuping Wang, Weston Merrick, Patrick Carter","doi":"10.1111/puar.13903","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13903","url":null,"abstract":"Evidence-based practice (EBP) has become a global public management movement to improve constituents' lives through government decision making. However, how civil servants' decisions are influenced by scientific evidence remains unanswered. In this study, we answer two related research questions: (1) How do different elements of evidence impact civil servants' program preferences? (2) How does the rating of evidence influence their program preferences? Collaborating with major governmental and nonprofit agencies that promote the use of EBPs, we invited civil servants from three U.S. state governments to a paired conjoint experiment. Our analysis shows that: Civil servants prefer programs with evidence that is: (1) from their own states; (2) more recent; (3) shows positive effect on people from different demographic groups; and is (4) created by independent government teams and university research teams. We also find the “evidence-based” rating drives civil servants' preferences toward evidence with higher internal validity.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142665278","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 scholars can support government analytics: Combining employee surveys with more administrative data sources towards a better understanding of how government functions","authors":"Daniel Rogger, Christian Schuster","doi":"10.1111/puar.13894","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13894","url":null,"abstract":"With the digitization of administrative systems, governments have gained access to rich data about their administrative operations. How governments leverage such data to improve their administration—what we call government analytics—will shape government effectiveness. This article summarizes a conceptual framework which showcases that data can help diagnose and improve all components of a public administration production function—from inputs such as personnel and goods, to processes and management practices, to outputs and outcomes. We then assess to what extent public administration scholarship analyses these data sources and can thus inform government analytics. A review of 689 quantitative articles in two public administration journals in 2013–2023 finds that 50% draw on surveys of public employees and 25% on surveys of citizens or firms. By contrast, administrative micro data (14% of articles) are underexploited. Practitioners and scholars would thus do well to expand the data sources used to inform better government.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"216 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142637173","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":"It's about time! Temporal dynamics and longitudinal research designs in public administration","authors":"Zuzana Murdoch, Muiris MacCarthaigh, Benny Geys","doi":"10.1111/puar.13758","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13758","url":null,"abstract":"Many of the fundamental research questions in public administration relate to individual- or organization-level temporal dynamics, including the impact of public sector reforms, (in)stability of public policies and organizations, development of public service motivation, or the workplace socialization of public employees. However, theoretical, methodological, and empirical public administration scholarship continues to take time and temporal dynamics insufficiently seriously. This constitutes a major shortcoming within the profession and implies that we are yet to unlock the transformative potential of longitudinal research. Building on the recent development of novel research infrastructures that can support the study of temporal dynamics of—and within—public organizations, this Symposium pushes for a “longitudinal turn” in the study of public administration. We maintain that more concerted efforts to apply a temporal lens to our research endeavors are critical to theorize, empirically assess, and understand public administrations as well as the bureaucrats employed within them.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"5 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2023-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50164827","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}
Andrea M. Headley, Kaila Witkowski, Christa Remington, N. Emel Ganapati, Santina Contreras
{"title":"Trauma-Informed Organizational Climate and its Impact on Burnout in First Response Agencies during COVID-19","authors":"Andrea M. Headley, Kaila Witkowski, Christa Remington, N. Emel Ganapati, Santina Contreras","doi":"10.1111/puar.13764","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13764","url":null,"abstract":"First responders experience work-related challenges in higher magnitudes than other occupations. Organizational elements may mitigate or exacerbate burnout for first responders during public health emergencies (e.g., COVID-19). This mixed methods study of first responders in the US aims to (1) assess the relationship between a Trauma-Informed Organizational Climate (TIC) and burnout; (2) analyze the moderating effect of TIC on role strain and burnout; and (3) identify how a TIC can mitigate contributors to burnout. Survey data (n = 3517) of first responders demonstrate that a TIC (of safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment) negatively correlates with burnout. Further, a TIC moderates the positive relationship between role strain and burnout. Interviews of first responders (n = 91) reveal that fewer employee interactions, lack of rule-following behaviors, impaired communication, staffing shortages, and limited time off contribute to burnout. Open communication, resource provision, collaboration opportunities, and creative problem-solving enhance work climate.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50164828","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":"Towards a Better Understanding of Local Service Provision: Implications for Studying the Determinants of Production Choice","authors":"Scott Lamothe, Meeyoung Lamothe","doi":"10.1111/puar.13759","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13759","url":null,"abstract":"Researchers studying local governance, especially alternative service delivery arrangements, have long relied on the ICMA ASD survey to examine the scope and nature of service provision and production at the local level. Building upon Lamothe, Lamothe, and Bell's (2018) findings that raise questions concerning the accuracy of the ASD survey and resulting misconceptions about service provision, this paper refines how provision can be conceptualized and measured to promote a better understanding of local governance. Utilizing a unique survey design that incorporates, but also extends the ASD format, we demonstrate that service provision is multifaceted, and jurisdictions participate in varying degrees of provision activities based on the sector of the producing entity. Our findings highlight the importance of properly accounting for provision activities and call into question the efficacy of the conventional contracting framework as the primary theoretical underpinning of most studies of local service delivery arrangements.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"4 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2023-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50164855","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":"Evaluating Turnover Intention as a Proxy for Behavior in the Federal Public Service: Evidence from Two Surveys of Senior Civil Servants","authors":"Scott Limbocker, Mark D. Richardson","doi":"10.1111/puar.13748","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13748","url":null,"abstract":"Studies of turnover in the federal public service often study intention rather than behavior and studies that evaluate the reliability of intention as a proxy for that behavior are rare. This article uses a novel data set that measures exit intention and behavior for the same senior civil servants to evaluate two aspects of the reliability of turnover intention as a proxy for behavior: (1) prediction error and (2) similarity of marginal effects. Overall, exit intention is a problematic proxy for behavior because it consistently overestimates the probability of exit. While coefficients from models of intent tend to have the correct sign, the magnitudes of marginal effects can be misleading, tending to overestimate corresponding marginal effects in models of exit behavior. Moreover, coefficients do sometimes change signs between models. The article discusses the implications of these findings and suggests next steps to better use exit intention to understand exit behavior.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"3 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50164858","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":"Sector Attraction and the Role of Job Information: Evidence from a Conjoint Experiment","authors":"Ivan P. Lee, Sebastian Jilke","doi":"10.1111/puar.13760","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13760","url":null,"abstract":"Are public and private employees different? And is this difference due to the fact that different people are attracted to work for government rather than companies? It has been proposed that individuals with certain characteristics, such as having high levels of risk aversion or public service motivation (PSM), are more likely to self-select into public service. This study argues that this sector attraction effect depends on the amount of job-related information available to job seekers at different stages of the job search process. We test the hypotheses using a three-stage conjoint experimental design. The employment sector only matters to job seekers when little direct information is provided. Once more job-related information is available to them, it diminishes. This effect is especially strong for people with high levels of PSM. These findings suggest that the sector attraction effect is situational, which has important implications for theory and practice of public sector attraction.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"3 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2023-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50164859","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}
Martin Baekgaard, Matthias Döring, Mette Kjærgaard Thomsen
{"title":"It's not merely about the content: How rules are communicated matters to administrative burden","authors":"Martin Baekgaard, Matthias Döring, Mette Kjærgaard Thomsen","doi":"10.1111/puar.13751","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13751","url":null,"abstract":"Research suggests that citizens often abstain from taking up benefits for which they are eligible because of the costs of learning about how to apply for and the compliance and psychological costs associated with taking up benefits. But to what extent can such burdens be altered simply by changing the way rules are communicated? Bridging literatures on administrative burden, communication theory, and cognitive psychology, we theorize and test the causal impact (using a pre-registered randomized survey experiment (N = 2243)) of two prominent aspects of rule communication: information structure and bureaucratic language. Our findings lend support to the expectation that bureaucratic language influences citizens' learning costs as well as their compliance – and to a lesser extent psychological – costs, even when the content of the rules communicated is the same.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"3 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2023-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50164862","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}
James E. Wright, Dongfang Gaozhao, Brittany Houston
{"title":"Body-Worn Cameras and Representation: What matters when evaluating police use of force?","authors":"James E. Wright, Dongfang Gaozhao, Brittany Houston","doi":"10.1111/puar.13746","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13746","url":null,"abstract":"Public administration scholarship seeks to understand ways to increase accountability within the policing profession. We employ an online conjoint experiment to disentangle the effects of both representation and BWC on police accountability and legitimacy. In the experiment, we ask participants to rate the likelihood that a police use of force incident prompts an investigation when there is a BWC present and racial and gender representation matches between the officer and the civilian in the use of force incident. We find that Caucasian officers who use force are more likely to be investigated. Our findings also reveal that civilians believe male officers who use force should be investigated and there is no need for further investigation when a BWC is utilized during a use of force situation. The implications of this study show that civilians view BWCs as the most important tool is providing accurate and honest assessment of police-civilian encounters.","PeriodicalId":48431,"journal":{"name":"Public Administration Review","volume":"3 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2023-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50164861","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}