Pub Date : 2023-02-16DOI: 10.1177/02750740231155408
Erik-Jan van Dorp
The question of who is appointed to key administrative posts at the expense of whom lies at the heart of public administration research. In this paper, I study what career experiences have increased senior civil servants’ chances of being appointed to a secretary general position. The civil service politicization and core executive literatures suggest such appointments are impacted by loyalty, ability, and proximity to power. These hypotheses are investigated using a mixed methods research design combining quantitative analysis of the career paths of all active senior civil servants in the years 2000–2020 (n = 247) with 22 elite interviews with cabinet ministers and bureaucrats in the Netherlands. The main findings of this paper are that active affiliation with minister-delivering political parties and having worked in the prime minister's office significantly increased the odds of a candidate's appointment to an SG position, whereas managerial experience did not. These findings challenge the conventional theory of nonpoliticized appointments and unlock possibilities for comparative research on bureaucrats’ biographies.
{"title":"The Practice and Politics of Secretary General Appointments","authors":"Erik-Jan van Dorp","doi":"10.1177/02750740231155408","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740231155408","url":null,"abstract":"The question of who is appointed to key administrative posts at the expense of whom lies at the heart of public administration research. In this paper, I study what career experiences have increased senior civil servants’ chances of being appointed to a secretary general position. The civil service politicization and core executive literatures suggest such appointments are impacted by loyalty, ability, and proximity to power. These hypotheses are investigated using a mixed methods research design combining quantitative analysis of the career paths of all active senior civil servants in the years 2000–2020 (n = 247) with 22 elite interviews with cabinet ministers and bureaucrats in the Netherlands. The main findings of this paper are that active affiliation with minister-delivering political parties and having worked in the prime minister's office significantly increased the odds of a candidate's appointment to an SG position, whereas managerial experience did not. These findings challenge the conventional theory of nonpoliticized appointments and unlock possibilities for comparative research on bureaucrats’ biographies.","PeriodicalId":22370,"journal":{"name":"The American Review of Public Administration","volume":"1 1","pages":"182 - 194"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88621715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-03DOI: 10.1177/02750740221148188
Geiguen Shin
Many policymakers and administrators have directed efforts to increase foreign manufacturing investment (FMI) due to its potential to raise the employment rate, technological progress, and productivity in their regions. Despite foreign manufacturers’ significant influence on the economies of their host countries, institutional and policy uncertainty creates significant entry barriers for multinational manufacturers. Focusing solely on American state performance in economic development as measured by amounts of FMI, this study suggests that different institutional designs and regulations that affect state taxing and spending decision-making make a difference in FMI in American states. This research empirically assesses the relationship between fiscal federalism and FMI by focusing on the level of fiscal decentralization, federal grants, and fiscally constraining institutions. Testing two different FMI datasets that cover all 50 American states by source country between 1987–2006 and 2008–2016, this study finds that manufacturing firms increase their investment in the states that exercise higher discretion in managing fiscal policy, receive more federal grants, and implement more restrictive taxing and spending regulations. The observed positive impact of fiscal institutions and constraints is more prominent for foreign manufacturing firms in the tax-exemption group.
{"title":"Advancing Public Entrepreneurship through State Government Capacity and Competitiveness: The Impact of Discretionary Fiscal Policy of American States on Worldwide Manufacturing Industries","authors":"Geiguen Shin","doi":"10.1177/02750740221148188","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221148188","url":null,"abstract":"Many policymakers and administrators have directed efforts to increase foreign manufacturing investment (FMI) due to its potential to raise the employment rate, technological progress, and productivity in their regions. Despite foreign manufacturers’ significant influence on the economies of their host countries, institutional and policy uncertainty creates significant entry barriers for multinational manufacturers. Focusing solely on American state performance in economic development as measured by amounts of FMI, this study suggests that different institutional designs and regulations that affect state taxing and spending decision-making make a difference in FMI in American states. This research empirically assesses the relationship between fiscal federalism and FMI by focusing on the level of fiscal decentralization, federal grants, and fiscally constraining institutions. Testing two different FMI datasets that cover all 50 American states by source country between 1987–2006 and 2008–2016, this study finds that manufacturing firms increase their investment in the states that exercise higher discretion in managing fiscal policy, receive more federal grants, and implement more restrictive taxing and spending regulations. The observed positive impact of fiscal institutions and constraints is more prominent for foreign manufacturing firms in the tax-exemption group.","PeriodicalId":22370,"journal":{"name":"The American Review of Public Administration","volume":"30 1","pages":"64 - 81"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81674848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-03DOI: 10.1177/02750740221148192
Ofek Edri‐Peer, N. Cohen
What role do the perceptions of clients about the procedural justice that street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) use when implementing policy play in prompting citizens to engage in vigilante actions? Using qualitative methods, we examine the unintended effects of SLBs’ implementation of policy on citizens’ vigilantism. We contribute to the literature by showing that procedural justice on the street level is in fact an important factor in citizens’ decisions to act as vigilantes. Our findings identified three significant factors in these decisions: the citizens’ ability to voice their complaint, the sense that they were treated respectfully and their trust that the police officers would do what they could to deal with their complaint. Furthermore, we also demonstrated that citizens and SLBs do not share the same perceptions of the role of the police as service providers, and that this gap increases citizens’ motivations to act independently.
{"title":"Procedural Justice and the Unintended Role of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Prompting Citizens to Act as Vigilantes","authors":"Ofek Edri‐Peer, N. Cohen","doi":"10.1177/02750740221148192","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221148192","url":null,"abstract":"What role do the perceptions of clients about the procedural justice that street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) use when implementing policy play in prompting citizens to engage in vigilante actions? Using qualitative methods, we examine the unintended effects of SLBs’ implementation of policy on citizens’ vigilantism. We contribute to the literature by showing that procedural justice on the street level is in fact an important factor in citizens’ decisions to act as vigilantes. Our findings identified three significant factors in these decisions: the citizens’ ability to voice their complaint, the sense that they were treated respectfully and their trust that the police officers would do what they could to deal with their complaint. Furthermore, we also demonstrated that citizens and SLBs do not share the same perceptions of the role of the police as service providers, and that this gap increases citizens’ motivations to act independently.","PeriodicalId":22370,"journal":{"name":"The American Review of Public Administration","volume":"38 1","pages":"51 - 63"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74318837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-03DOI: 10.1177/02750740221147573
Shinwoo Lee, Taha Hameduddin, G. Lee
Organizational image, defined as internal members’ evaluations of their organization, is a critical managerial issue since it influences employee work attitudes and subsequent performance. While the public administration discipline has observed an increasing scholarly interest in the influence of organizational image on employee engagement, it leaves the potential inter-relationships between two distinctive organizational image dimensions—construed external image (CEI) and perceived organizational identity (POI)—unexplored. We examine the influence of these two organizational images on employee engagement, with an emphasis on both the mediating and moderating role of POI between CEI and employee engagement. Empirical results show that both image dimensions positively influence employee engagement. More importantly, we find that POI acts as a moderator in the CEI–employee engagement relationship, that is, the positive influence of CEI on the outcome depends on the level of POI. Empirical findings imply that public employees treat two dimensions of organizational image differently and weigh POI more than CEI. In particular, the findings suggest that attractive or positive POI may serve as a catalyst to reinforce employee engagement even in the presence of a long-lasting negative external image for public organizations.
{"title":"Organizational Image and Employee Engagement: Exploring the Inter-Relationships Between Construed External Image and Perceived Organizational Identity","authors":"Shinwoo Lee, Taha Hameduddin, G. Lee","doi":"10.1177/02750740221147573","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221147573","url":null,"abstract":"Organizational image, defined as internal members’ evaluations of their organization, is a critical managerial issue since it influences employee work attitudes and subsequent performance. While the public administration discipline has observed an increasing scholarly interest in the influence of organizational image on employee engagement, it leaves the potential inter-relationships between two distinctive organizational image dimensions—construed external image (CEI) and perceived organizational identity (POI)—unexplored. We examine the influence of these two organizational images on employee engagement, with an emphasis on both the mediating and moderating role of POI between CEI and employee engagement. Empirical results show that both image dimensions positively influence employee engagement. More importantly, we find that POI acts as a moderator in the CEI–employee engagement relationship, that is, the positive influence of CEI on the outcome depends on the level of POI. Empirical findings imply that public employees treat two dimensions of organizational image differently and weigh POI more than CEI. In particular, the findings suggest that attractive or positive POI may serve as a catalyst to reinforce employee engagement even in the presence of a long-lasting negative external image for public organizations.","PeriodicalId":22370,"journal":{"name":"The American Review of Public Administration","volume":"35 1","pages":"82 - 96"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74913799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-13DOI: 10.1177/02750740221136488
J. Fleischer, A. Buzogány
Recent debates in international relations increasingly focus on bureaucratic apparatuses of international organizations and highlight their role, influence, and autonomy in global public policy. In this contribution we follow the recent call made by Moloney and Rosenbloom in this journal to make use of “public administrative theory and empirically based knowledge in analyzing the behavior of international and regional organizations” and offer a systematic analysis of the inner structures of these administrative bodies. Changes in these structures can reflect both the (re-)assignment of responsibilities, competencies, and expertise, but also the (re)allocation of resources, staff, and corresponding signalling of priorities. Based on organizational charts, we study structural changes within 46 international bureaucracies in the UN system. Tracing formal changes to all internal units over two decades, this contribution provides the first longitudinal assessment of structural change at the international level. We demonstrate that the inner structures of international bureaucracies in the UN system became more fragmented over time but also experienced considerable volatility with periods of structural growth and retrenchment. The analysis also suggests that IO's political features yield stronger explanatory power for explaining these structural changes than bureaucratic determinants. We conclude that the politics of structural change in international bureaucracies is a missing piece in the current debate on international public administrations that complements existing research perspectives by reiterating the importance of the political context of international bureaucracies as actors in global governance.
{"title":"Unboxing International Public Administrations: The Politics of Structural Change in the UN System (1998–2019)","authors":"J. Fleischer, A. Buzogány","doi":"10.1177/02750740221136488","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221136488","url":null,"abstract":"Recent debates in international relations increasingly focus on bureaucratic apparatuses of international organizations and highlight their role, influence, and autonomy in global public policy. In this contribution we follow the recent call made by Moloney and Rosenbloom in this journal to make use of “public administrative theory and empirically based knowledge in analyzing the behavior of international and regional organizations” and offer a systematic analysis of the inner structures of these administrative bodies. Changes in these structures can reflect both the (re-)assignment of responsibilities, competencies, and expertise, but also the (re)allocation of resources, staff, and corresponding signalling of priorities. Based on organizational charts, we study structural changes within 46 international bureaucracies in the UN system. Tracing formal changes to all internal units over two decades, this contribution provides the first longitudinal assessment of structural change at the international level. We demonstrate that the inner structures of international bureaucracies in the UN system became more fragmented over time but also experienced considerable volatility with periods of structural growth and retrenchment. The analysis also suggests that IO's political features yield stronger explanatory power for explaining these structural changes than bureaucratic determinants. We conclude that the politics of structural change in international bureaucracies is a missing piece in the current debate on international public administrations that complements existing research perspectives by reiterating the importance of the political context of international bureaucracies as actors in global governance.","PeriodicalId":22370,"journal":{"name":"The American Review of Public Administration","volume":"4 1","pages":"23 - 35"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75229851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-08DOI: 10.1177/02750740221137071
Jacqueline Chattopadhyay, Jaclyn S. Piatak
Perceptions of the deservingness of policy target populations play a vital role in the policy process. Yet, little research has modeled assessments of deservingness as a function of core concepts from public administration. Arguably, one of the most robust insights into deservingness assessments is that they correlate to beliefs about who receives a policy's benefits—likely because of how different groups have been socially constructed over time. Using Medicaid as a lens of study, we test whether deservingness assessments also correlate to public service motivation (PSM). We find that deservingness assessments relate to PSM in many models. However, PSM is often insignificant in models that control for racial sentiments. We also fail to find evidence that PSM moderates the relationship between deservingness assessments and beliefs about who benefits from a policy.
{"title":"Do Opinions of Policy Target Population Deservingness Correlate to Public Service Motivation? Insights from Medicaid","authors":"Jacqueline Chattopadhyay, Jaclyn S. Piatak","doi":"10.1177/02750740221137071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221137071","url":null,"abstract":"Perceptions of the deservingness of policy target populations play a vital role in the policy process. Yet, little research has modeled assessments of deservingness as a function of core concepts from public administration. Arguably, one of the most robust insights into deservingness assessments is that they correlate to beliefs about who receives a policy's benefits—likely because of how different groups have been socially constructed over time. Using Medicaid as a lens of study, we test whether deservingness assessments also correlate to public service motivation (PSM). We find that deservingness assessments relate to PSM in many models. However, PSM is often insignificant in models that control for racial sentiments. We also fail to find evidence that PSM moderates the relationship between deservingness assessments and beliefs about who benefits from a policy.","PeriodicalId":22370,"journal":{"name":"The American Review of Public Administration","volume":"56 1","pages":"3 - 22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83452262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-04DOI: 10.1177/02750740221127050
B. Peters, C. Bianchi
Patronage appointments in government are a continuing issue in many administrative systems. Especially for countries in Latin America and Africa patronage is considered a major impediment to developing more effective administrative systems. A great deal has been written describing patronage and discussing the causes for patronage, but much less research has addressed the dynamics of moving away from patronage to more merit-based systems. This paper reviews the patronage literature and then develops a dynamic feedback model for movement away from patronage. The model links the quality of the services provided by the government, the nature of the political party system, and levels of trust to patronage. The model uses several reinforcing and balancing feedback loops to demonstrate the possible dynamics of change in administrative appointments.
{"title":"Moving Away from Patronage: A Feedback Approach","authors":"B. Peters, C. Bianchi","doi":"10.1177/02750740221127050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221127050","url":null,"abstract":"Patronage appointments in government are a continuing issue in many administrative systems. Especially for countries in Latin America and Africa patronage is considered a major impediment to developing more effective administrative systems. A great deal has been written describing patronage and discussing the causes for patronage, but much less research has addressed the dynamics of moving away from patronage to more merit-based systems. This paper reviews the patronage literature and then develops a dynamic feedback model for movement away from patronage. The model links the quality of the services provided by the government, the nature of the political party system, and levels of trust to patronage. The model uses several reinforcing and balancing feedback loops to demonstrate the possible dynamics of change in administrative appointments.","PeriodicalId":22370,"journal":{"name":"The American Review of Public Administration","volume":"5 1","pages":"36 - 48"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82522829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-11-01DOI: 10.1177/02750740221133754
Jesse Berrett, Teshanee T Williams, H. Minkowitz, Alexandra Lahoud
While the public values of efficiency, effectiveness, and equity have been extensively studied in the public sector, very little research exists in the nonprofit context. In particular, we lack an understanding of what public values nonprofit leaders prioritize, why they prioritize certain public values over others, and how they balance or make tradeoffs between public values. Thirty-six Habitat for Humanity affiliate leaders from the United States were interviewed for this research. Interestingly, while the nonprofit leaders in the sample represent the same mission, they all prioritize different public values—though a plurality focuses on equity. We also found that the three primary challenges they perceive in achieving these public values relate to access, quality, and capacity. While Habitat leaders already apply strategies to deal with these challenges, we offer some additional suggestions for Habitat affiliates and similar affordable homeownership nonprofits to consider.
{"title":"The Iron Triangle of Affordable Homeownership: Habitat for Humanity Affiliate Strategies for Balancing Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Equity","authors":"Jesse Berrett, Teshanee T Williams, H. Minkowitz, Alexandra Lahoud","doi":"10.1177/02750740221133754","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221133754","url":null,"abstract":"While the public values of efficiency, effectiveness, and equity have been extensively studied in the public sector, very little research exists in the nonprofit context. In particular, we lack an understanding of what public values nonprofit leaders prioritize, why they prioritize certain public values over others, and how they balance or make tradeoffs between public values. Thirty-six Habitat for Humanity affiliate leaders from the United States were interviewed for this research. Interestingly, while the nonprofit leaders in the sample represent the same mission, they all prioritize different public values—though a plurality focuses on equity. We also found that the three primary challenges they perceive in achieving these public values relate to access, quality, and capacity. While Habitat leaders already apply strategies to deal with these challenges, we offer some additional suggestions for Habitat affiliates and similar affordable homeownership nonprofits to consider.","PeriodicalId":22370,"journal":{"name":"The American Review of Public Administration","volume":"449 1","pages":"573 - 585"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86858707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-11-01DOI: 10.1177/02750740221128554
Elizabeth Bell, Julian Christensen, Kristina Jessen Hansen
Public administration researchers have found that unfavorable state actions can trigger negative emotions in citizens, but the behavioral consequences of these emotions have been understudied. We draw on psychological insights to predict how discrete emotional responses to unfavorable interactions with the state (specifically: administrative decisions to deny access to public benefits) will predict citizens’ coping behaviors, such as whether they voice grievances, file complaints, and seek information. We test our hypotheses using a survey of applicants of a notoriously burdensome, means-tested tuition-free college program in Oklahoma, USA. In line with our theoretical framework, we find anger increases opposition behaviors in reaction to losses of access to the program, whereas shame reduces opposition among citizens. We also find that fear increases information-seeking and resistance behaviors. The results demonstrate the role of discrete emotions in predicting state-directed citizen behaviors, but also provide the groundwork for applying the discrete emotions framework to other actors, such as public managers and street-level bureaucrats.
{"title":"Resistance or Capitulation? How Discrete Emotions Shape Citizens’ Interactions With the Administrative State","authors":"Elizabeth Bell, Julian Christensen, Kristina Jessen Hansen","doi":"10.1177/02750740221128554","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221128554","url":null,"abstract":"Public administration researchers have found that unfavorable state actions can trigger negative emotions in citizens, but the behavioral consequences of these emotions have been understudied. We draw on psychological insights to predict how discrete emotional responses to unfavorable interactions with the state (specifically: administrative decisions to deny access to public benefits) will predict citizens’ coping behaviors, such as whether they voice grievances, file complaints, and seek information. We test our hypotheses using a survey of applicants of a notoriously burdensome, means-tested tuition-free college program in Oklahoma, USA. In line with our theoretical framework, we find anger increases opposition behaviors in reaction to losses of access to the program, whereas shame reduces opposition among citizens. We also find that fear increases information-seeking and resistance behaviors. The results demonstrate the role of discrete emotions in predicting state-directed citizen behaviors, but also provide the groundwork for applying the discrete emotions framework to other actors, such as public managers and street-level bureaucrats.","PeriodicalId":22370,"journal":{"name":"The American Review of Public Administration","volume":"21 1","pages":"535 - 557"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79951251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-11DOI: 10.1177/02750740221125432
Ashlee Frandell, Mary K. Feeney
The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by local governments is widespread and meant to improve managerial effectiveness and public engagement. ICTs are commonly used by governments to collaborate and communicate with stakeholders. Yet, the use of ICTs increases local governments exposure to cyberthreats. Cyberthreats are increasing and local governments are often under-resourced and underprepared for them. While many organizations combat cyberthreats with technological solutions, it is well known that social aspects—including manager vigilance and buy-in—are critical in reducing cyber incidents. Thus, governments require both social and technical solutions to cyberthreats. This research takes a sociotechnical perspective to examine the relationships between social (e.g., values and perceptions) and technical factors (e.g., design and capacity) and cyber incidents in local government. We use data from a 2018 national survey of public managers in 500 U.S. cities, data from city government websites, and the U.S. Census. The results indicate that manager buy-in and perceptions interact with technical aspects to explain reported cyber incidents in government. The findings expand our understanding of how social and technical factors are associated with cyberthreats in government, particularly manager.
{"title":"Cybersecurity Threats in Local Government: A Sociotechnical Perspective","authors":"Ashlee Frandell, Mary K. Feeney","doi":"10.1177/02750740221125432","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740221125432","url":null,"abstract":"The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by local governments is widespread and meant to improve managerial effectiveness and public engagement. ICTs are commonly used by governments to collaborate and communicate with stakeholders. Yet, the use of ICTs increases local governments exposure to cyberthreats. Cyberthreats are increasing and local governments are often under-resourced and underprepared for them. While many organizations combat cyberthreats with technological solutions, it is well known that social aspects—including manager vigilance and buy-in—are critical in reducing cyber incidents. Thus, governments require both social and technical solutions to cyberthreats. This research takes a sociotechnical perspective to examine the relationships between social (e.g., values and perceptions) and technical factors (e.g., design and capacity) and cyber incidents in local government. We use data from a 2018 national survey of public managers in 500 U.S. cities, data from city government websites, and the U.S. Census. The results indicate that manager buy-in and perceptions interact with technical aspects to explain reported cyber incidents in government. The findings expand our understanding of how social and technical factors are associated with cyberthreats in government, particularly manager.","PeriodicalId":22370,"journal":{"name":"The American Review of Public Administration","volume":"669 1","pages":"558 - 572"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86074799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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