Purpose: This study aims to get a better understanding of the role of meritocracy in shaping civil servants’ work attitudes by taking into account mediating and contextual factors. Specifically,...Show morePurpose: This study aims to get a better understanding of the role of meritocracy in shaping civil servants’ work attitudes by taking into account mediating and contextual factors. Specifically, this study examines whether job autonomy mediates the relationship between meritocracy and work attitudes as well as whether the mediating effects differ across hierarchical levels. Methodology: A quantitative research design was employed through the use of a survey strategy for data collection. The data was drawn from the COCOPS Executive Survey on Public Sector Reform in Europe. For data analysis, multiple regression analysis, mediation analysis, and moderated mediation analysis were performed in SPSS version 26. Findings: The perceptions of meritocracy in public organizations significantly affect civil servants’ degree of job autonomy, which in turn influences their work attitudes. Moreover, the indirect effect of meritocracy on job satisfaction and organizational commitment via the mediator variable (job satisfaction) differs between top- and lower-level civil officials. Implications: The findings of this study are relevant for public service organizations wishing to increase civil servants’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment. This study argues civil servants’ work attitudes depend on their intrinsic motivation, which is greatly influenced by the degree of autonomy and discretion they have in performing their duties. Contribution: This study makes a significant contribution to the field of public administration by expanding our understanding of the antecedents of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in public organizations.Show less
The influence of right-wing populist ideology on governments has increased over the past two decades and these developments are still ongoing in several countries over the world. Right-wing...Show moreThe influence of right-wing populist ideology on governments has increased over the past two decades and these developments are still ongoing in several countries over the world. Right-wing populist politics is often characterized by values of anti-pluralism and anti-elite, which threaten diverse, inclusive, and open societies. These influences in the form of populistic pressures may lead to democratic backsliding and can have far-reaching consequences on the administrative apparatus and political-administrative relations. Top civil servants as main actors within the democratic constitutional state and the civil service are important in safeguarding day-to-day governance and in dealing with populistic pressures and preventing democratic backsliding. This research, therefore, focuses on the perceptions and expectations of top civil servants regarding which strategies and actions a government with a populistic signature will adopt and subsequently the response of civil servants to these pressures. The findings show that the absolute majority of top civil servants expect that a government with a populist signature will adopt strategies and actions about centralization of both structure and resources and regarding the politicization of both norms and personnel. Furthermore, most top civil servants are neutral regarding their expectations of whether civil servants will respond. They consider it most likely that civil servants will resign, closely followed by speaking out against the policy. They find it more likely that civil servants will have a response than not respond, and finally, expect that civil servants will not be loyal to a populist government when dealing with populistic pressures.Show less
There is a scarcity of qualitative research on the public service professionals perspective of coproduction and representative bureaucracy. Therefore, this thesis aims to answer the research...Show moreThere is a scarcity of qualitative research on the public service professionals perspective of coproduction and representative bureaucracy. Therefore, this thesis aims to answer the research question, “How does gender representation of project managers affect co-production in Operatie Steenbreek according to the project managers"? This thesis aims to connect representative bureaucracy and co-production by looking at the impact of gender on the projects outcome from the perspective of the project managers. To help answer this main research question, several expectations were derived from the theoretical framework and formulated. These expectations are as follows, E1: If Operatie Steenbreek is a gendered environmental programme, it will show positive effects of representativeness; E2: When the project manager is female, she will expect more females to coproduce in the Steenbreek Projects she leads; E3: When the project manager is female, she will expect that her gender has an impact on the outcome of her Steenbreek projects; and E4: When the project manager is male, he will expect that gender played no role in Steenbreek Projects. To test these expectations, this thesis used semi-structured interviews to observe if these expectations were confirmed. Most project managers observed that E2 and E3 were incorrect out of the four expectations. There are alternative explanations given in the analysis why these were incorrect. This thesis contributed to the scarce body of qualitative literature on co-production and representative bureaucracy.Show less
The judicial system is the pillar of fairness and accountability in the nation state and women’s inability to access it to the same extent as men highlights a more hidden form of inequality that is...Show moreThe judicial system is the pillar of fairness and accountability in the nation state and women’s inability to access it to the same extent as men highlights a more hidden form of inequality that is however embedded with the others, notably socioeconomic dependency. It proves that while laws are necessary to ensure women’s rights, formal equality does not correspond to effective equality as discrimination remains present in various aspects of society. This research contributes to the investigation of barriers as well as good practices that can foster a more effective response to women’s access to justice while taking into consideration the strength and weaknesses offered by a centralized and decentralized approach.Show less
Abstract Purpose: This thesis aims to understand, clarify, and further explore the mechanism underlying the relationship between gender and corruption. The objective is to test and develop theory...Show moreAbstract Purpose: This thesis aims to understand, clarify, and further explore the mechanism underlying the relationship between gender and corruption. The objective is to test and develop theory about the link between gender representation in the legislature and corruption levels. Design and methodology: The research design is qualitative. Eight (8) semi-structured interviews with municipal councillors were conducted, coded, and analysed. Through the interviewees’ lived experiences, patterns of attitudes and relationships can be explored, and causation can be established. Findings: The results find that marginalisation is the mechanism that mediates between high corruption levels and low female representation in the legislature. Women are not less corrupt than men. They have fewer opportunities to engage in corrupt behaviour. The lack of accessibility in corrupt networks mediates the link between gender and corruption in the legislature. Research contribution: The existence of an association between gender representation in the legislature and corruption levels has already been established. This thesis answers the call for more research on the mechanism underlying the link between gender and corruption. Practical implications: The findings are relevant for policymakers in Greece. Marginalisation leads women to leave the political scene, further exacerbating the issue of lack of representation. On the contrary, a high female representation may not lead to lower levels of corruption, but it may encourage diverse views for the society’s benefit to be expressed.Show less
Purpose: This thesis aims to understand the causal mechanistic relationship between organisational centralisation and Public Service Motivation (PSM). It tests and explains one existing causal...Show morePurpose: This thesis aims to understand the causal mechanistic relationship between organisational centralisation and Public Service Motivation (PSM). It tests and explains one existing causal mechanism based on PSM theory and explores an alternative causal mechanism based on the logic of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Design and methodology: This qualitative, single-case deductive study includes some explorative elements to explain and probe causal mechanisms. Nine semi-structured interviews provide the data which this study transcribed, coded, and analysed. Findings: The results find that organisational centralisation indeed creates stark hierarchical structures and a certain degree of autonomy loss for individual employees. This negatively impacts PSM. However, centralisation of more services in organisations such as contact centres also makes their job more varied and rewarding due to direct contact with service beneficiaries and therefore satisfies four basic universal psychological needs. In turn, this positively impacts employee motivation (PSM). Originality/value: Although not a first, this thesis brings the PSM and SDT literature closer by using the latter as a logic through which the effects of an independent variable (organisational centralisation) on the former can be explained. Furthermore, organisational centralisation has barely been studied alone as an antecedent of PSM. This thesis also shifts the continued focus from quantitative PSM studies to qualitative research. Thusly advancing the internal validity of the theory and passed research. Practical implications: The findings are especially relevant for foreign affairs ministries wishing to establish a 24/7 contact centre resembling that of the Netherlands. Centralised provision of consular and other information can be excellent for providing uniform and high-quality information to people abroad. Moreover, since good public service depends on the motivation of public employees, centralised or centralising (public) organisations should balance hierarchy creation whilst maintaining high levels of employee need satisfaction.Show less
Purpose: This study tests the recently advanced ‘collaborative model’ of political-bureaucratic relations in the case of Rwanda. This model has been at the root of many developmental success...Show morePurpose: This study tests the recently advanced ‘collaborative model’ of political-bureaucratic relations in the case of Rwanda. This model has been at the root of many developmental success stories, yet this the first study to empirically test this model post-formulation. Thus, this study ascertains the model’s presence and functioning, and observes how it manifests itself in one of Africa’s most rapidly developing countries. Methodology: This case study uses a theory-testing process-tracing method to examine the presence and functioning of the theorised model in empirical reality. Data is retrieved from government documents, books, third party reports, previous academic works and selected news articles. Findings: The collaborative model is deemed to be present in the case. Rwanda’s elites are committed to development and have gone to great lengths to create a capable state. Yet this study finds that bureaucratic autonomy, a vital feature of the model, is often limited. The country’s central economic ministry, which plays a key role in development and the Rwandan policy process, is a key exception. Implications: This study argues that the collaborative model of political-bureaucratic relations is a useful tool in understanding developing country governance. Areas for refinement of the model include bureaucratic autonomy and the dimension that aid brings to the African context if the model is to be of value in this context. Contribution: This study adds to a rapidly growing body of public administration literature focused on the developing country context, as well as the extensive bodies of literature concerning political-bureaucratic relations and Rwanda’s governance and development.Show less
One of the political controversies in Europe that has been continuing for the past five years is the destruction of rule of law caused by unconstitutional reforms in many European Union member...Show moreOne of the political controversies in Europe that has been continuing for the past five years is the destruction of rule of law caused by unconstitutional reforms in many European Union member states. One of these controversies is the reform of the Polish judicial system that began in 2015 and ever since has been tackling each part of the third branch one by one. Therefore, this thesis analyses how the reforms to the Polish judicial system introduced by the ruling coalition of Law and Justice as the leader party, United Poland and Agreement have affected public trust in government. By analysing factors including trust in directly involved politicians, attitudes towards government and opinion on the working of parliament and president, the thesis concludes with a theory that the reforms have had a negative influence on public trust in government and deeply polarise the society. The trust has been weak for a long period as post-communist societies tend to have low trust in their institutions. Politicians more directly associated with the reform such as Vice Prime Minister for Security and L&J party leader Jarosław Kaczyński and Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro face widespread distrust from the public. On the other hand, politicians associated more with positive changes in the country and distancing themselves from the reform, or even veto it such as Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Andrzej Duda enjoy a higher degree of trust from the population. Although, all of them face a high percentage of people trusting and distrusting them. Furthermore, attitudes towards the government have also been divided among the years between opponents, supporters and indifferent citizens, even when the reforms take place. The majority of people also agree that both parliamentary houses do a bad job, however, the president, on the other hand, is seen more positively which is reflected in trust in him. All of this data shows that the Polish population is quite divided between attitudes of opportunism, conformism and legalism towards the reform and the ruling coalition, and polarisation (equal divide between supporters and opponents) of society is a typical trait for a populist government.Show less
