Lost in Translation: A Multi‐Level Case Study of the Metamorphosis of Meanings and Action in Public Sector Organizational Innovation

This paper explores the early implementation of an organizational innovation in the UK National Health Service (NHS) – Treatment Centres (TCs) – designed to dramatically reduce waiting lists for elective care. The paper draws on case studies of 8 TCs (each at varying stages of their development) and aims to explore how meanings about TCs are created and evolve, and how these meanings impact upon the development of the organizational innovation. Research on organizational meanings needs to take greater account of the fact that modern organizations like the NHS are complex multi‐level phenomena, comprising layers of interlacing networks. To understand the pace, direction and impact of organizational innovation and change we need to study the interconnections between meanings across different organizational levels. The data presented in this paper show how the apparently simple, relatively unformed, concept of a TC framed by central government is translated and transmuted by subsequent layers in the health service administration, and by players in local health economies, and, ultimately, in the TCs themselves, picking up new rationales, meanings and significance as it goes along. The developmental histories of TCs reveal a range of significant re‐workings of macro policy with the result that there is considerable diversity and variation between local TC schemes. The picture is of important disconnections between meanings, that in many ways mirror Weick's (1976) ’loosely coupled systems’. The emergent meanings and the direction of micro‐level development of TCs appear more strongly determined by interactions within the local TC environment, notably between what we identify as groups of ’idealists’, ’pragmatists’, ’opportunists’ and ’sceptics’ than by the framing (Goffman 1974) provided by macro and meso organizational levels. While this illustrates the limitations of top down and policy‐driven attempts at change, and highlights the crucial importance of the front‐line local ’micro‐systems’ (Donaldson and Mohr 2000) in the overall scheme of implementing organizational innovations, the space or headroom provided by frames at the macro and meso levels can enable local change, albeit at variable speed and with uncertain outcomes.     

Can We Feel Their Presence? A New Framework for Investigating Minor Parties in English Local Government

Minor parties in English local government have largely been neglected by the research literature because of their lack of electoral success at the aggregate level. However, over the past decade minor party candidates have contested an increasing number of wards and this rise is disproportionate to their share of the vote. Developing the concept of ‘presence’ and a focus on wards rather than seats we use newly reworked data from the Elections Centre Database (University of Plymouth) to plot the proportion of wards contested by minor party candidates from 1973–2008. We argue that whilst changes in vote share are minimal throughout the period, the magnitude of the recent increase in minor party activity at the ward level is unprecedented and justifies further study. We also explore the variation in minor party activity between authority types, concluding that the explanation for the recent rise in contestation is not constant across similar authorities and electoral systems. We suggest that the explanation for minor party activity is much more complex and relative.     

Who is Governing What? Governing Local Technical Systems–an Issue of Accountability

The article discusses accountability in governance of local energy and IT systems. The aim is to focus on accountability of local policy making regarding technical systems by comparing consequences when new forms of governance are developed. Governance steering demands and ensures a clear division of responsibility regarding what a network is responsible for, but not regarding who is accountable for the decision making and implementation. On the other hand, in a steering context characterized by government, it is clear who is responsible and accountable for decisions, but the specific issues for which different actors can be accountable are unclear. We argue that demands for clarifications of accountability emerges from the complex modern governance.     

State–Community Synergies in Community-Driven Development

States can do much to tap community-level energies and resources for development if they seek to interact more synergistically with local communities. The broader spin-off is the creation of a developmental society and polity. Using case studies from Asia and Latin America, we illustrate how: (1) state efforts to bring about land reform, tenancy reform, and expanding non-crop sources of income can broaden the distribution of power in rural communities, laying the basis for more effective community-driven collective action; and (2) higher levels of government can form alliances with communities, putting pressure on local authorities from above and below to improve development outcomes at the local level. These alliances can also be very effective in catalysing collective action at community level, and reducing ‘local capture’ by vested interests. There are several encouraging points that emerge from these case studies. First, powerful institutional changes do not necessarily take long to generate. Second, they can be achieved in a diversity of settings: tightly knit or open communities; war-ravaged or relatively stable; democratic or authoritarian; with land reform or (if carefully managed) even without. Third, there are strong political pay-offs in terms of legitimacy and popular support for those who support such developmental action.     

From environmental policy concepts to practicable tools: Knowledge creation and delegation in multilevel systems

The problem‐solving capacity and problem‐generating potential of multilevel systems entail the need for the delegation of authority. When the problem concerned is about how to put an abstract policy concept into a practicable policy tool, the choice of the respective delegation trajectory depends on the policy models or the policy‐relevant knowledge that the respective political levels can supply. When regarding the European Union (EU) level as the starting point of knowledge creation and delegation trajectories, and concentrating on transaction costs, policy knowledge and models generated at the international level provide the most cost‐effective solution. Only when the international level is not able to provide further policy knowledge and innovation does the EU delegate its definitional authority, first downward to the member states and then sideways to EU agencies. We illustrate the plausibility of our dynamic understanding of multilevel governance by using Environmental Policy Integration as an example.     

The Reluctant Resurrection:New Complexity Methods and Old Systems Theories

Abstract: Nonlinear tools and concepts (derived from the relatively recent computational advances in the physical, biological, and cognitive sciences) offer valuable insights into the evolution and behavior of human as well as natural systems. Hence, of late, organizational studies have begun to apply both the methods, as well as the metaphors, of nonlinear dynamical systems (known by the popular terms “chaos” and “complexity”). While these various studies often allude to unique epistemological features, full-blown theoretical developments are rare indeed. Moreover, this lack of a coherent foundation leads to a number of misconceptions, not the least of which is the belief that the results of nonlinear analysis can be integrated easily with existing social theories. In reality they present significant theoretical challenges. Specifically, they rely upon its concepts of holism and emergence, as well as alternative perspectives of sociocultural evolution and collective rationality. Thus, serious theory building requires a revival of elements from earlier Systems Theories, including the development of certain hybrid concepts such as “Systemic Choice” (which seeks to reconcile human agency and institutional processes).     

Aspects of local government and politics in china: 1955–58

This study, based on work in six villages, seeks insights into the likely effect of the introduction of prospective land‐, water‐, and crop‐management technologies, being researched at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi‐Arid Tropics, on the existing village labour‐use patterns in one major relevant region: peninsular India. Explicit attention is given to the similarities and differences between small and large farms and their relevance to the adoption of the prospective new technologies.

Regional variation in labour utilisation reveals a tremendous employment‐creating potential in the existing tank and well irrigation systems in the Alfisols of peninsular India. The prospective technologies should increase employment, compared with existing technologies, by at least 100 per cent in the Alfisols and by over 300per cent in the deep Vertisols— but with some increase in the seasonal variability of labour demand. Given the existing availability of labour, there will be, with the improved watershed technologies, major farm labour bottlenecks. These should eventually generate increased wage rates and employment potentials. However, even temporary adverse effects on the timelessness of operations could be critical to the success of a double‐cropping and/or intercropping technology aiming at greatly increased yields. This would create demands for selective mechanisation, for example, of threshing.     

Police Collapse in Authoritarian Regimes: Lessons from Tunisia

The quick unraveling of authoritarian systems specifically designed to bear social pressure during revolutions is puzzling. Building on the 2011 Tunisian revolution, this article analyzes the collapse of the police apparatus during the 2011 revolution. In line with Way and Levitsky's study of authoritarian collapse, this article shows that the low cohesion and low scope of the security forces is one of the main factors explaining the rapid collapse of one of the Arab world's seemingly most solid repressive systems. At the theoretical level, this article will demonstrate that preference falsification is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can nourish authoritarian resilience. On the other, it can also weaken repressive regimes by making core members of the regime overestimate the loyalty of the low-ranking members of the security apparatus.     

Big Windows and Little Windows: Implementation in the 'Congested State'

This paper argues for the need to re-assess models of policy implementation in the 'congested state'. This re-appraisal focuses on two main directions. The first involves locating implementation in the context of wider models of the policy process. We fuse three models, those of Kingdon, Wolman, and Challis et al ., to form a new 'policy streams' approach. The second examines implementation in multi-level governance. In the UK and elsewhere, much of the focus of traditional implementation studies has been on the link between one central government department and a local agency. However, this vertical (central-local) dimension fails to give sufficient stress to the other horizontal dimensions of 'central-central' and 'local-local'. Paraphrasing Kingdon's terms, implementation models also need to incorporate the 'little windows' at local level as well as the 'big' windows at national level. Using evidence relating to the implementation of UK policy towards health inequalities, this paper argues successful implementation is more likely when the three policy streams are linked across the three dimensions. The model is thought to be applicable to other areas of the public sectors and complex issues facing all governments.     

Is Previous Export Experience Important for New Exports?

This article examines the relationship between local level heterogeneity and the likelihood of successful collective action in community-based forest management in Nepal. Economic and social heterogeneity are discussed and their effects on local level collective action considered. The study develops simple measures of inequality for key variables, and shows that there is no clear-cut impact of group heterogeneity on collective action. Forest user groups can create institutions for resource management according to their local context in order to avoid management problems created by inequalities among resource users. Perhaps the most important result is that the effects of heterogeneity can be highly variable, and the recommendation is that systems of governance need to be flexible to allow adaptation of management regimes to local conditions.     

How Resistance to Change Affects the Implementation of Accrual Accounting in Italian Public Universities: A Comparative Case Study

Following a highly disordered series of reforms, Italian universities will adopt accrual accounting by the end of 2016. This article studies the case of two universities where the new accounting system was introduced early (2013). The aim is to identify the main drivers of resistance to change and determine the types of organizational behavior that can counter this resistance. The results show a positive correlation between overcoming resistance to change and implementing specific organizational practices that may soften its effect. Surprisingly, the article found that resistance was stronger in the university where the situation was less complex.     

Small farm improvement strategies—the implications of a computer simulation study of indigenous farming in south‐east Ghana

This paper outlines the methodology and findings of a village level farm management study in South‐east Ghana. A linear programming model is used to investigate the production response of farmers to the introduction of mechanisation, crop technology and credit innovations. The results are presented and their research, extension and policy implications are discussed. It is considered that the results support the argument for undertaking detailed farm level studies in order to understand the nature of existing farming systems as a basis for assessing the possibilities for their improvement. The results also suggest that the present states of technical knowledge and research orientation are biased in favour of the better‐off farmers and, as such, do not provide a suitable basis for recommendations consistent with equality, which governments profess to be their objective.     

Political leadership and ‘non-traditional’ development cooperation

This article explores the relationships between (so-called) ‘non-traditional’ development cooperation (NTDC) and political leadership. Using the case studies of Brazil and South Korea, we propose that certain emblematic elements of NTDC discourse and practice can act to influence the relationship with political leaders in particular ways. These are (a) elevated language of affect, (b) interleaving of personal biographies with the developmental trajectories of states, (c) the use of NTDC to legitimise domestic policies and promote domestic political leadership, (d) the prominence of presidential diplomacy and (e) the challenges confronting rapidly expanding domestic development cooperation institutions and systems.     

Networked Co-Production of 311 Services: Investigating the Use of Twitter in Five U.S. Cities

Prior studies highlighted the importance of adopting new technologies to co-produce 311 services, yet they failed to provide empirical evidence of the implementation. Taking Twitter as an example, the present study aims to fill the gap by examining the characteristics of actors in five 311 Twitter networks and the relationship between government 311 Twitter accounts and followers. The results demonstrate multiple-group engagement yet low level of connections within a network, with varying response rates of Twitter requests among all five networks. The overall limited Twitter use in 311 systems calls for shared best practices and efficient account promotion efforts.     

Reform Styles of Political and Administrative Elites in Majoritarian and Consensus Democracies: Public Management Reforms in New Zealand and the Netherlands

One of the most important claims advanced by comparative public management reform studies is that these reforms have been more successfully implemented in majoritarian than in consensus democracies. The claim is built on the premise that the institutional structure of a majoritarian democracy enables a parliamentary majority to implement policies unilaterally and in a desired way whereas the institutional structure of a consensus democracy forces parliamentary majorities to negotiate compromises. This claim, we argue, lacks sufficient empirical backing, is biased by studies focusing on the initiation of reforms, and needs serious rethinking in the light of recent empirical studies that downplay the salience of institutions as an explanatory factor for variations in policy reform. With The Netherlands and New Zealand as cases, this article first shows that far-reaching reforms can be implemented in consensus systems too; secondly, it develops a model that centres on the interplay between institutions and politicians' reform styles and applies this to these countries.     

Cyberdemocracy or Potemkin E-Villages? Electronic Governments in OECD and Post-Communist Countries

Abstract

The dramatic increase in the use of the World Wide Web and the Internet in government may foreshadow important changes in the nature of governance. A number of theorists have posited that the adoption of networked information systems is accompanied by inevitable shifts toward democratic government. Others argue that technologies are secondary factors in changes in levels of democracy or types of governance. Our article examines the openness of cabinet-level websites in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and post-communist countries as a measure of an important aspect of governance that has only recently been operationalized. It provides a brief review of other studies in this field and the directions in which they are heading. The article analyzes the effects of political, cultural, economic, and technical factors on openness of cabinet-level websites in OECD and post-communist countries. The question is whether the level of democracy and cultural legacies affect openness of electronic governments. The study employs statistical analysis of a comparative database of national-level public agency websites that is produced by the Cyberspace Policy Research Group (CyPRG). The dependent variable is based on transparency and interactivity scores and availability of cabinet-level websites. The independent variables include Freedom House and Polity indexes of democracy, historical legacy, religious tradition, and the GDP per capita and number of Internet users per 1,000 people. Regression analysis shows that democracy, historical legacies, level of economic development, and religious tradition affect openness of cabinet-level websites in OECD and post-communist countries. This study demonstrates need to distinguish between cyberdemocracy and “Potemkin e-villages,” that is, window-dressing, in electronic governments.     

TRANSACTIONS COSTS IN RURAL DECISION‐MAKING: THE CASES OF FUNDING AND MONITORING IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN ENGLAND

Public domain decisions in rural England have become more complex as the number of stakeholders having a say in them has increased. Transactions costs can be used to explore this increasing complexity. The size and distribution of these costs are higher in rural areas. Grouping transactions costs into four – organizations, belief systems, knowledge and information, and institutions – two of the latter are evaluated empirically: growth in the bid culture, and monitoring and evaluation. Amongst 65 Agents of Rural Governance (ARGs) in Gloucestershire, both were found to be increasing over time, but those relating to finance were a greater burden than those of monitoring: the latter can improve ARG performance. Increasing transactions costs in rural decision‐making appears to be at variance with ambitions of achieving ‘smaller government' through, for example, the Big Society. Smaller government is likely to be shifting the incidence of these costs, rather than reducing them.     

Policy Networks and Policy Learning UK Economic Policy in the 1960s and 1970s

Policy networks are advanced as an alternative to the Westminster model of the UK polity but the theory lacks an internal dynamic and has typological problems. This article applies Peter Hall's (1993) concept of 'social learning' to policy networks and maps the networks found in two case studies of British economic policy making: Hall's own study of the shift from Keynesianism to monetarism in the 1970s and the author's research on the advent of 'Keynesian-plus' in the early 1960s. The article advances three main propositions. Firstly, that integrating the concept of social learning can dynamize the policy network model. Secondly, the case studies suggest that different network configurations are associated with different orders of policy change but that Hall's definition of 'third order change' may be too restrictive. Thirdly, policy networks can be much more complex and fluid then is generally claimed, sometimes becoming so extensive that they might be termed a 'meta-network'.     

How to Improve the Outcome of State Welfare Services. Governance in A Systems-Theoretical Perspective

Much governance literature deals with the limited capacity of the state and the market to govern core state welfare services such as education, scientific research and healthcare. Rather less attention has been focused on how the outcome of these services can be improved politically. An analysis of Niklas Luhmann's systems theory (Luhmann 1997a, 2000) leads to the hypothesis that self-governance, that is, a combination of professional autonomy and public peer-evaluation, is a superior strategy. Though this may seem counterintuitive at first glance, this paper shows that it corresponds to well-rooted principles of public administration and, in the sphere of education, to empirical findings on school choice and school effectiveness. This raises new perspectives for future comparative governance studies.     

An (in)effective tax and expenditure limit (TEL): Why county governments do not utilize their maximum allotted property tax rate

Tax and expenditure limits (TELs) are restrictions placed on governments limiting their ability to collect and spend revenue. Residents support these TELs, as they desire lower tax burdens and more government efficiency; yet, residents still desire the same level of public services. Property tax rate limits, a specific type of TEL, are placed upon local governments to limit their ability to collect revenue and expand authority. Rate limits were implemented on the assumption that governments would tax at their highest maximum possible rate, but this is not always the case. This article studies why some local governments choose not to utilize their maximum allotted property tax rate. Using an open systems governance approach, a panel data analysis was conducted using data from 67 Florida counties from 2008 to 2017. Results of the analysis show that the use of special districts and the age of the residential population have significant effects on property tax rate decisions.