Australian Journal of Public Administration最新文献

In an era of growing hostility towards government in many parts of the world, how might we chart a more positive future direction? This article sets out foundations for a new approach to public administration. It sets these in contrast to the extreme hostility and turbulence that erupted followed the inauguration of the Trump Administration in January 2025 and seeks to chart a future for our field that is more human(e).

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This study explores the relationship between public sector reform (PSR) and the reduction of administrative burdens (ABs), expanding the focus from government–citizen to government–business interactions. It introduces a framework aimed at reducing ABs in business settings, linking PSR to improvements in the business ecosystem. Using enterprise survey data, the study's multivariable regression models demonstrate that government reforms significantly enhance the business ecosystem. Recognising potential endogeneity, the study employs the historical timing of port openings in the ancient China as an instrumental variable. The instrumental variable regression analysis confirms the positive impact of PSRs, even after accounting for endogeneity. This research extends administrative burden theory and offers valuable insights for developing countries like China, suggesting that targeted government reforms can foster economic growth.

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Victoria, Australia consistently experiences significant bushfires. This article examines the ways in which public inquiry recommendations after major bushfires in Victoria have played an important role in shifting the emphasis of emergency management organisations (EMOs) from bushfire response to bushfire preparedness through hybrid emergency management arrangements. Based on a qualitative analysis of Victorian public inquiry bushfire reports from 1851 to 2020, this study shows that public inquiry recommendations contribute to new emergency management arrangements. These new arrangements have seen organisational hybridity emerge as a way of achieving greater integration between EMOs. These findings have important implications for research related to managing natural hazard events such as bushfires which, to date, has proposed that public inquiries hinder the ability of EMOs to learn from bushfires and, more broadly, natural hazard events. This study also shows how emerging organisational hybrid phases have been important as a mechanism by which EMOs have moved towards an approach to natural hazard mitigation which is shared, collaborative, and prospective.

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Government organisations employ various forms of governance, both externally and internally. Externally, government organisations increasingly operate within networks, while internally, bureaucratic governance is often maintained. While research has been conducted on how external network governance can be shaped, less is known about the impact of internal governance on the contribution the government organisation makes to the external network and how the internal governance structure within a government organisation can align with its external network governance. This research demonstrates that the way internal governance is structured influences the contribution that government organisations make to an external network. Internally, a bureaucratic form of governance is often combined with network or market governance. Combining bureaucratic governance with network governance provides a good basis for timely and substantively correct contributions but can also lead to a clash between these two forms of governance. The combination of bureaucratic governance and market governance provides a basis not only for timely and substantively correct contribution but also for reliable contribution to the network.

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This study examines the role of nonprofit organisations established and operated by Arab citizens of Israel that work with youth in government policies aimed at integrating the Arab population and addressing community violence. Using content analysis of government documents and interviews, we investigate how this co-production is evident in financial support, regulation, monitoring, and inclusive governance. Our findings highlight cultural differences affecting the relationship between the third sector and the government, as well as challenges in top-down policy implementation and co-production with Arab local governments in Israel. This paper's findings reveal a paradox in co-production within Israeli local governance. Arab non-profit employees, despite dissatisfaction with top-down policies, see state-mandated co-production as necessary due to local government failures. The unitary nature of Israel's government limits local autonomy and non-profit effectiveness, constraining them to service delivery roles. This centralised neo-Weberian model restricts non-profits from participating in policy design, highlighting contradictions in the co-production process and reflecting broader challenges in public administration and third-sector collaboration.

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While existing literature on public service logic has predominantly focused on the positive outcome of value co-creation, this study delves into the often-neglected aspect of value co-destruction that can arise in complex service networks. Taking the electricity network in Pakistan as a case, the study investigates the intricate mechanisms of public service delivery and explores the challenges faced by networked organisations. Through a comprehensive analysis of user experiences and insights from networked organisations, the study identifies co-destruction of service value across three dimensions: value-in-production, value-in-delivery, and value-in-usage. The study conceptualises the complexities and interconnection of value creation and value destruction within a framework of four categories of value co-destruction: value contestation, value disproportion, value degradation, and value dilution. The findings elucidate the multifaceted challenges and systemic inefficiencies that contribute to the erosion of service value experienced by end-users.

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Citizen satisfaction with public services is an increasingly important governance concern. However, research on the sources of citizen satisfaction remains conceptually under-developed. Moreover, there is an absence of clarity over expectations’ position in the satisfaction process. This paper, using the case of land administration in Vietnam, proceeds to improve the status quo. In particular, it introduces a more robust predictive model, based on latest cognitive and attitudinal theory, and evaluates key mediatory effects. Subsequently, regression analysis reveals (1) satisfaction is associated with one internal (i.e. expectations) and five external (i.e. socio-demographic, structural, sociological, and performance) predictors; and (2) expectations are both a significant satisfaction predictor and a mediator of multiple satisfaction relationships. These findings, then, (1) suggest expectations play a more comprehensive and multi-dimensional role vis-à-vis satisfaction than previously thought; and (2) underscore the value of interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks to citizen satisfaction research.

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Our analysis of the literature indicates a growing prominence of hybridity within the field of public administration. Hybrid arrangements incorporate ambiguities and controversies, but they also represent opportunities for joint action and goal achievement. The difficulties inherent in hybridity originate from the dichotomous view of the public–private divide and the underdeveloped measurement instruments. The contributions of this special issue address these challenges, providing extensive evidence as to the empirical reality of the manifold aspects of hybrid public management. Encouragingly, this knowledge enabled us to revisit existing hybridity models and provide an up-to-date Framework for Hybridised Public Management to further advance the development of theory and practice. Drawing on this framework, we suggest future research in key areas.

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