Emotionally Intelligent Street-Level Bureaucracies: Agenda Setting for Promoting Equity in Public Service Delivery

Abstract

The goal of this conceptual study is to highlight the potential contribution of emotional intelligence as a tool in advancing the study of equity in public service delivery. By reviewing the literature on emotional intelligence in public administration and rationalizing its relationship with equity among street-level bureaucrats and bureaucracies, this article proposes a strategy to promote social equity in the provision of public service. The proposed strategy focuses on the role of EI-supportive organizational culture, and particularly human resource management practices, as a means to enhance bureaucrats’ emotionally intelligent behavior in their interactions with citizens-clients. Finally, the article proposes a theoretical and methodological agenda for future research in this important field of study.