On the Critique of Negotiated Economy

A critical debate on the concept of negotiated economy has to start from a mutual recognition of fundamental methodological and epistemological differences between the various research positions in the field. In reply to a recent critical comment by P. M. Christiansen on our use of the concept of negotiated economy, we argue that Christiansen not only mispresents our theoretical, empirical, and critical ambitions; most importantly, he also fails to grasp the basic methodological differences between our constructivist strategy of institutional analysis, and the more conventional non-constructivist approach that he propagates.     

Electoral Trends in Denmark in the 1980's

The article examines the 1984 election in a longer time perspective. As compared to the turbulent 1970's it appears that the class polarization in voting between the 'old' classes has been reestablished but that the new social cleavages in party choice are at the same time reinforced. It furthermore turns out that the consensus on the welfare state which was lost in the 1970's is now reestablished, that radical socialist sentiments are weakening, and that the political distrust of the 1970's is declining. In shon, the elections of the 1980's signal a definitive break with the political climate of the 1970's. Opinion polls furthemore indicate that Denmark is heading towards a reestablishing of the 5-party system before 1973, but with differences in relative strength between the parties, and with a different, but still group-specific. social base.     

Treating handicapped newborns: suggestions for institutional policy

In October 1984 a conference of physicians and other health professionals, attorneys, members of the press, ethicists, and social scientists met at the State University of New York at Stony Brook to consider the medical, ethical, and social issues raised by the treatment of handicapped newborns. Presented here is a summary of guidelines for the implementation of their most important recommendation--the establishment of institutional policies concerning the internal decision making process regarding treatment and the procedures for sharing information about controversial cases with the public. The guidelines address the medical problems of diagnosis, prognosis, and clinical decision making; institutional responses to controversy within the institution and to the media and the public; and the composition and role of institutional review committees.     

Only When We Agree! How Value Congruence Moderates the Impact of Goal‐Oriented Leadership on Public Service Motivation

Questions of how and when managers can motivate the workforce of public organizations are fundamental for scholars and practitioners alike. A dominant assertion is that goal‐oriented leadership strategies, such as transformational leadership, foster public service motivation (PSM). However, existing studies rely on designs that are vulnerable to endogeneity and rarely investigate the scope conditions of the leadership‐PSM relationship. Combining a field experiment with 364 managers and surveys of their 3,470 employees, the authors show that transformational leadership and transactional leadership, when induced experimentally, do not have the claimed positive effect on PSM. In fact, the results indicate that goal‐oriented leadership can have demotivating effects when employee and organizational values are incongruent. Public managers should therefore carefully assess existing levels of value (in)congruence before implementing goal‐oriented leadership strategies, and—in case of value conflicts—seek to align perceptions of the desirable among members of the organization.