How does diversity affect public organizational performance? A meta-analysis

Research in public administration examining the effects of diversity on public organizational performance has produced mixed results. However, the lack of a comprehensive theoretical framework has failed to provide an explanation for the mixed diversity effects. This study introduces a systematic analytical model, Categorization-Elaboration Model (CEM), to help identify the contextual constructs which can promote the positive effects of diversity on public organizational performance. A meta-analysis is conducted on 37 quantitative studies to test the empirical validity of a CEM constructed theoretical model with 253 effect sizes which will promote a better understanding of the circumstances or contexts that lead to the benefits of diversity within public sector organizations. The empirical results of meta-regression point to the appropriate range of contextual factors which can alleviate the potential negative effects of diversity and promote its overall positive effects.     

How does intergovernmental fiscal environment affect general fund balances of major American cities?

This study explores the extent to which intergovernmental fiscal factors affect fiscal reserves in municipal general funds. Statistical results from panel data of 87 major cities in the US for the period from 1995 to 2010 show that cities facing more restrictive limitations on local property taxation tend to maintain higher levels of unreserved general fund balances. Additional analyses also show that fiscally constrained cities accumulate surpluses in their general funds. This is consistent with the proactive approach in which municipal governments make fiscal decisions with the awareness of expected state constraints on their revenue-raising capacity. We call for consideration of relevant intergovernmental constraints in the determination of appropriate level of fund balances for municipal governments.     

How representative are brics?

The five countries known as brics, while not homogeneous in interests, values, and policy preferences, do have a common interest in checking US/Western power and influence through collaboration with non-Western powers. They vary considerably but all are ahead of other developing countries on population, military power, economic weight, geopolitical clout, and global reach and engagement. They are unrepresentative of the typical developing country in terms of interest, capacity, and resources, but they can represent the interests and goals of developing countries as a group on those issues for which the North–South division is salient. The diversity within brics, their differences from other developing countries, and their potential to reflect and represent the global South are explored with respect to climate change, finance, trade, aid, human rights and intervention, and development. It remains unclear whether brics can morph from a countervailing economic grouping to a powerful political alternative.     

How does council–manager conflict affect managerial turnover intention? The role of job embeddedness and cooperative context

Turnover intention is an important yet underexamined concept in local government studies. Although the association between council–manager conflict and managerial turnover intention is well documented, the underlying mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. This study fills this research gap by analysing two variables in the relationship: organizational job embeddedness and cooperative context. Results from partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) reveal that organizational job embeddedness mediates the link between task conflict and managerial turnover intention. The results also indicate that a cooperative context can moderate the negative indirect relationship between council–manager task conflict and managerial turnover intention.