Does context matter? : governance models in local administration

Vedder, Stefanie (author), Friedländer, Benjamin (author), Bogumil-Uçan, Simon (author), Klenk, Tanja (author)

Purpose: Over the past decades, public administration scholars and practitioners around the world have experimented with various administrative reforms to design governance models suitable to fulfil the tasks of public administration. Amidst this ongoing debate, (at least) three different and competing governance models can be distinguished: New Public Management, New Public Governance, and the (Neo) Weberian model. Despite each of these models claiming universal legitimacy, specific administrative branches in different administrative systems operate in unique contexts and handle varying tasks. The article delves into the question of whether and to what extent different branches of public administration within the same administrative system adopt global public administration ideas in a similar fashion. Design/Methodology/Approach: The article employs a comparative design to analyse the adoption of global public administration concepts across different administrative branches. Given their shared rigid Weberian tradition but divergent tasks and context, the study uses the German financial and social administrations as examples. The findings are derived from a survey of local agencies. Findings: The study reveals a persistent influence of strong Weberian traditions on the structural and operational makeup of both branches, indicating a significant path dependency in governance understanding. The characteristics of New Public Management and New Public Governance are comparatively more prominent in social than in financial administration, which can be attributed to differences in tasks and relations, especially with political actors. Academic contribution to the field: In addition to supplementing existing detailed analyses of the (non-)success of specific public administration reforms, the study takes a comprehensive view of the long-term development of public administration structure and perception, spanning multiple reforms. While acknowledging the formative influence of administrative tradition on the entire public administration system, the focus is on the nuanced effects of administrative traditions on diverse organisations, encouraging future comparative research. Originality/Significance/Value: In addition to the contribution to the field, our comparative methodology and empirical study makeup show the advantages of concentrating on a minimal number of paradigms that can be delineated as clearly as possible, instead of operationalising public administration reforms with a multitude of (potentially country-specific) indicators. With this approach, we lay the groundwork for the extension of the comparative design to other countries and administrative systems.

• Language: English
• Keywords: financial administration, social administration, local governance, administrative culture, path dependency
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FU - Faculty of Administration
• Publication date: 01.11.2023
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: Str. 53-76, 167-168
• Numbering: Vol. 21, no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-153343
• UDC: 35:352
• ISSN on article: 2591-2240
• DOI: 10.17573/cepar.2023.2.03
• COBISS.SI-ID: 178369283
• Publication date in RUL: 22.12.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Central European public administration review
• Publisher: Fakulteta za upravo
• ISSN: 2591-2240
• COBISS.SI-ID: 293849600

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

Namen: V zadnjih desetletjih so znanstveniki in strokovnjaki s področja javne uprave z vsega sveta preizkušali različne upravne reforme, s katerimi bi oblikovali modele upravljanja, ki bi bili primerni za izvajanje nalog javne uprave. Tako lahko danes razlikujemo med (vsaj) tremi konkurenčnimi modeli upravljanja. To so: novi javni menedžment, novo javno upravljanje in (neo)weberjanski model. Čeprav je vsak od teh modelov univerzalno uporaben, različne veje posameznih upravnih sistemov delujejo v različnih okoliščinah in opravljajo različne naloge. Članek obravnava vprašanje, ali in v kolikšni meri posamezne veje javne uprave v določenem upravnem sistemu podobno dojemajo globalne javnoupravne koncepte. Zasnova/metodologija/pristop: Članek s pomočjo primerjalne analize proučuje dojemanje globalnih javnoupravnih konceptov v različnih upravnih vejah. V študiji sta kot primera uporabljeni nemška finančna in socialna uprava, ki sicer izhajata iz podobno toge weberjanske tradicije, a se razlikujeta po nalogah, ki jih opravljata, in okoljih, v katerih delujeta. Rezultati temeljijo na raziskavi, opravljeni v lokalnih izpostavah obeh uprav. Ugotovitve: Ugotavljamo, da se v strukturnem in operativnem smislu v obeh upravah ohranja trdna weberjanska tradicija, kar kaže na močno odvisnost od zgodovinskega razvoja (t. i. odvisnost od poti) pri dojemanju upravljanja. So pa značilnosti novega javnega menedžmenta in novega javnega upravljanja bolj izrazite v socialni kot v finančni upravi, kar pripisujemo razlikam v nalogah in različnim odnosom, zlasti do političnih akterjev. Akademski prispevek k znanstvenem področju: Študija, ki dopolnjuje dosedanje podrobne analize (ne)uspešnosti posameznih reform javne uprave, obravnava dolgoročni razvoj strukture in dojemanja javne uprave, ki vključuje tudi več reform. Ob ugotovitvi, da upravna tradicija vsekakor vpliva na oblikovanje celotnega sistema javne uprave, se prispevek osredotoča na specifične učinke upravnih tradicij na posamezne organizacije, s čimer ponuja izhodišče za prihodnje primerjalne raziskave. Izvirnost/pomembnost/vrednost: Prispevek z izbiro primerjalne metodologije in empiričnih študij dokazuje, da se je namesto operacionalizacije reform javne uprave z večjim številom kazalnikov (po možnosti specifičnih za posamezno državo) bolj smiselno osredotočiti na minimalno število paradigem, ki jih je mogoče tudi jasneje razmejiti. S takim pristopom zagotavljamo podlago za razširitev primerjalne analize na druge države in upravne sisteme.

• Keywords: finančna uprava, socialna uprava, lokalno upravljanje, upravna kultura, odvisnost od poti