Bureaucratic responsiveness has been well researched in the national sphere, but research has been lacking at the European level. Bureaucrats in European Union agencies must reconcile many...Show moreBureaucratic responsiveness has been well researched in the national sphere, but research has been lacking at the European level. Bureaucrats in European Union agencies must reconcile many different multidimensional demands– from the European Commission and national agencies to the general public. Bound by finite time and resources, EU agencies must decide which request to prioritise and respond to first. Building on Rimkutė and Van der Voet's (2021) research, this thesis looks at when bureaucrats prioritise external demands. The theoretical framework focuses on three hypotheses corresponding with three dimensions of these demands (1) that requests from political actors will be prioritised over non-political actors, (2) that requests with technical content will be prioritised, and (3) and that salient request will be prioritised. The theoretical framework synthesises existing theories on bureaucratic responsiveness with newer theories on Reputational literature. To test these hypotheses, a mixed methodology, including Experimental Vignette Methodology, was used to analyse 16 EU bureaucrats in real-time while making the choices. Finally, the data is analysed quantitatively and qualitatively, and we find that political actors and salient requests are most likely to be prioritised.Show less
