International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
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Exploring the negative impacts of artificial intelligence in government: the dark side of intelligent algorithms and cognitive machines
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
This research proposes a framework for the negative impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) in government by classifying 14 topics of its dark side into five socio technical categories. The framework is based on a systematic literature review and highlights that the dark side is predominantly driven by political, legal, and institutional aspects, but it is also influenced by data and technology. Lack of understanding of AI outcomes, biases, and errors, as well as manipulation of intelligent algorithms and cognitive machines are contributing factors. The public sector should create knowledge about AI from an ethical, inclusive, and strategic perspective, involving experts from different areas.Points for practitionersGovernment officials and other decision-makers should be aware of the potential benefits of artificial intelligence, but also of the dark side, and try to avoid those potential negative consequences.
This research proposes a framework for the negative impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) in government by classifying 14 topics of its dark side into five socio technical categories. The framework is based on a systematic literature review and highlights that the dark side is predominantly driven by political, legal, and institutional aspects, but it is also influenced by data and technology. Lack of understanding of AI outcomes, biases, and errors, as well as manipulation of intelligent algorithms and cognitive machines are contributing factors. The public sector should create knowledge about AI from an ethical, inclusive, and strategic perspective, involving experts from different areas.Points for practitionersGovernment officials and other decision-makers should be aware of the potential benefits of artificial intelligence, but also of the dark side, and try to avoid those potential negative consequences.
Supportive leadership and job satisfaction at the European Court of Auditors
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
This article draws on theories of person–organisation fit and leadership behaviour to explore how supportive leadership is related to communication practices, collaborative working practices and performance management practices and how these three practices, in turn, relate to public servants’ job satisfaction. A model of supportive leadership's direct and indirect effects on employees’ job satisfaction is empirically tested using responses to a survey administered to the European Court of Auditors (ECA) staff. The findings show that communication and collaborative working practices mediate the relationship between supportive leadership and job satisfaction. Supportive leadership positively relates to performance management practices, but these practices have no significant association with job satisfaction. While addressing a theoretical void in the field, this study also makes an empirical contribution by unveiling how a professional European public audit institution manages its human resources and the means it uses.Points for practitioners Elaborating on the relationship between leadership behaviour and person–organisation fit in the context of a supranational public entity helps to explain what motivates public servants.The relationship between supportive leadership and public servants’ job satisfaction is mediated by two organisational practices: communication and collaborative working practices.Transparent performance management practices do not mediate the relationship between supportive leadership and job satisfaction.Public sector organisations with professional staff can centre their human resource management around effective communication and collaborative working practices to ensure greater employee satisfaction in the workplace.
This article draws on theories of person–organisation fit and leadership behaviour to explore how supportive leadership is related to communication practices, collaborative working practices and performance management practices and how these three practices, in turn, relate to public servants’ job satisfaction. A model of supportive leadership's direct and indirect effects on employees’ job satisfaction is empirically tested using responses to a survey administered to the European Court of Auditors (ECA) staff. The findings show that communication and collaborative working practices mediate the relationship between supportive leadership and job satisfaction. Supportive leadership positively relates to performance management practices, but these practices have no significant association with job satisfaction. While addressing a theoretical void in the field, this study also makes an empirical contribution by unveiling how a professional European public audit institution manages its human resources and the means it uses.Points for practitioners Elaborating on the relationship between leadership behaviour and person–organisation fit in the context of a supranational public entity helps to explain what motivates public servants.The relationship between supportive leadership and public servants’ job satisfaction is mediated by two organisational practices: communication and collaborative working practices.Transparent performance management practices do not mediate the relationship between supportive leadership and job satisfaction.Public sector organisations with professional staff can centre their human resource management around effective communication and collaborative working practices to ensure greater employee satisfaction in the workplace.
The nexus between institutional framework and employee performance in Tanzania’s maritime sector
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
Employee performance has been a critical theme which has received global attention in the mainstream literature of public sector governance. In developing countries, the need for employee performance is backed up by public dismay on declining public sector performance. Some of the causes attributed to low performance are the meagre resources allocated to the public sector and the existing formal rules and regulations which mould the behaviour of employees. So far, the existing informal social rules which also regulate the behaviour of employees have received little attention. This article is therefore set to explore the relationship between the formal institutional framework, the informal social rules and the availability of resources on one hand, and employee performance within Tanzania's maritime sector on the other. Accordingly, the study adopted a mixed approach with a case study of the Tanzania Port Authority in Dar es Salaam. To this end, a stratified simple random sampling technique was used to get a sample of 318 respondents for a questionnaire and a purposeful sampling technique was used to get a sample of 30 respondents for in-depth interviews. Quantitative data were analysed through descriptive statistics of employee performance variables and interviews were analysed through a thematic approach to get in-depth information concerning the influence of formal and informal institutions and resources on employee performance. The study found that employees’ performance behaviour at Dar es Salaam port authority is regulated by formal system such as the Open Performance Review and Appraisal System and informal channels of communication. The formal rules define the targets to be reached by each employee but the informal social rules and the resources provide the conditions to achieve the predetermined target.Points for practitionersPublic managers should be aware that employee performance in the public sector is a function not only of formal rules and regulations in place but also of the availability of resources and the informal social rules which set the conditions and influence the way public officials perform their daily duties and responsibilities in the public office.
Employee performance has been a critical theme which has received global attention in the mainstream literature of public sector governance. In developing countries, the need for employee performance is backed up by public dismay on declining public sector performance. Some of the causes attributed to low performance are the meagre resources allocated to the public sector and the existing formal rules and regulations which mould the behaviour of employees. So far, the existing informal social rules which also regulate the behaviour of employees have received little attention. This article is therefore set to explore the relationship between the formal institutional framework, the informal social rules and the availability of resources on one hand, and employee performance within Tanzania's maritime sector on the other. Accordingly, the study adopted a mixed approach with a case study of the Tanzania Port Authority in Dar es Salaam. To this end, a stratified simple random sampling technique was used to get a sample of 318 respondents for a questionnaire and a purposeful sampling technique was used to get a sample of 30 respondents for in-depth interviews. Quantitative data were analysed through descriptive statistics of employee performance variables and interviews were analysed through a thematic approach to get in-depth information concerning the influence of formal and informal institutions and resources on employee performance. The study found that employees’ performance behaviour at Dar es Salaam port authority is regulated by formal system such as the Open Performance Review and Appraisal System and informal channels of communication. The formal rules define the targets to be reached by each employee but the informal social rules and the resources provide the conditions to achieve the predetermined target.Points for practitionersPublic managers should be aware that employee performance in the public sector is a function not only of formal rules and regulations in place but also of the availability of resources and the informal social rules which set the conditions and influence the way public officials perform their daily duties and responsibilities in the public office.
Bureaucratic policy work and analytical capacities in central administrations in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain: The results of a comparative survey
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
Policy analytical capacity is a pivotal source of good governance. Although this capacity can be acquired by decision makers in various ways, it is clear that the internal stock of analytical capacity is strategic in terms of supporting policymaking. This stock can be concentrated in specific types of organisational roles (like policy professionals), but it can also be considered a constitutive component of ordinary bureaucratic work. This paper adopts this latter perspective to analyse the characteristics in terms of policy work and analytical capacities of high-level bureaucrats of the central administrations of the Old Southern Four: Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The data were collected through a large online survey involving more than 1000 high civil servants. The empirical evidence offered shows the high differentiation in terms of policy work and analytical capacities that characterise the four analysed central bureaucracies and confirms that, despite the expected similarities among the four countries, differences are striking and concern almost all dimensions of analysis. Moreover, Spain has a higher stock of policy analytical capacities. Thus, adopting a policy work perspective can be a fruitful lens for analysing whether and how administrative reforms are capable of penetrating the micro dimensions of administrative behaviour.Points for practitionersThe paper offers the first comparative analysis of the policy work and the analytical capacities of the central administration in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.The results show that, despite the many similarities among the four countries, there are significant differences in terms of ways of working and the held analytical capacities of the high level servants.The offered data show a specific map of policy analytical skills that can be used as a point of departure for designing improvements in high civil servants’ training.
Policy analytical capacity is a pivotal source of good governance. Although this capacity can be acquired by decision makers in various ways, it is clear that the internal stock of analytical capacity is strategic in terms of supporting policymaking. This stock can be concentrated in specific types of organisational roles (like policy professionals), but it can also be considered a constitutive component of ordinary bureaucratic work. This paper adopts this latter perspective to analyse the characteristics in terms of policy work and analytical capacities of high-level bureaucrats of the central administrations of the Old Southern Four: Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The data were collected through a large online survey involving more than 1000 high civil servants. The empirical evidence offered shows the high differentiation in terms of policy work and analytical capacities that characterise the four analysed central bureaucracies and confirms that, despite the expected similarities among the four countries, differences are striking and concern almost all dimensions of analysis. Moreover, Spain has a higher stock of policy analytical capacities. Thus, adopting a policy work perspective can be a fruitful lens for analysing whether and how administrative reforms are capable of penetrating the micro dimensions of administrative behaviour.Points for practitionersThe paper offers the first comparative analysis of the policy work and the analytical capacities of the central administration in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.The results show that, despite the many similarities among the four countries, there are significant differences in terms of ways of working and the held analytical capacities of the high level servants.The offered data show a specific map of policy analytical skills that can be used as a point of departure for designing improvements in high civil servants’ training.
A slow-burning crisis: Executive relations and the normalisation of distrust in Northern Ireland’s ‘cash for ash’ fiasco
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
This paper explores relationships between ministers, special advisers and civil servants through the lens of a high-profile government crisis in Northern Ireland (NI). Although political–administrative relationships are a mainstay of public administration research, we still have limited understanding of how these relationships feature and function within the ‘Westminster family’ of governance when operating within devolved institutions or post-conflict societies, nor of their role in crisis. We use Scott’s institutional pillars as an analytical framework and conduct a documentary analysis of public inquiry witness statements to explore the Renewable Heat Incentive crisis which led to the collapse of the NI legislature. Utilising a novel application of existing theory, we demonstrate that the implementation of the devolved, consociational power-sharing model incubated new governance norms, that prioritised and legitimised the agendas and actions of political actors (ministers and special advisers), over civil servants. Specifically, in understanding how relational norms – particularly distrust – feed public policy failure and institutional crisis, our findings contribute to this research area and to the broader public administration field. Government institutional crisis negatively impacts upon public service delivery and the wider health of democracy. Understanding such crises is an important first step in their amelioration.Points for practitionersStructural, systemic and day-to-day behavioural layering of distrust adversely impacts government professionals’ ability to recognise, communicate and respond to risk; this can create policy problems, which can escalate, unchecked, until they have become full-blown crises. In order to proactively mitigate crises in other public policy contexts, managers and teams should build in awareness raising, reflection and management processes to individual and operational performance reviews to improve relational norms, and prevent the normalisation of distrust.
This paper explores relationships between ministers, special advisers and civil servants through the lens of a high-profile government crisis in Northern Ireland (NI). Although political–administrative relationships are a mainstay of public administration research, we still have limited understanding of how these relationships feature and function within the ‘Westminster family’ of governance when operating within devolved institutions or post-conflict societies, nor of their role in crisis. We use Scott’s institutional pillars as an analytical framework and conduct a documentary analysis of public inquiry witness statements to explore the Renewable Heat Incentive crisis which led to the collapse of the NI legislature. Utilising a novel application of existing theory, we demonstrate that the implementation of the devolved, consociational power-sharing model incubated new governance norms, that prioritised and legitimised the agendas and actions of political actors (ministers and special advisers), over civil servants. Specifically, in understanding how relational norms – particularly distrust – feed public policy failure and institutional crisis, our findings contribute to this research area and to the broader public administration field. Government institutional crisis negatively impacts upon public service delivery and the wider health of democracy. Understanding such crises is an important first step in their amelioration.Points for practitionersStructural, systemic and day-to-day behavioural layering of distrust adversely impacts government professionals’ ability to recognise, communicate and respond to risk; this can create policy problems, which can escalate, unchecked, until they have become full-blown crises. In order to proactively mitigate crises in other public policy contexts, managers and teams should build in awareness raising, reflection and management processes to individual and operational performance reviews to improve relational norms, and prevent the normalisation of distrust.
Barriers to digital government and the COVID-19 crisis – A comparative study of federal government entities in the United States and Austria
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
Digital government has been an evolving topic in research and practice, and during the COVID-19 crisis, different tools emerged as crucial elements in tackling the crisis. Comparing the federal level in the United States (Anglo-Saxon public interest culture) and in Austria (continental European rule-of-law culture), this article looks at how different barriers to digital government were affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Fourteen semi-structured interviews with experts in United States departments and their Austrian counterparts are conducted. The results show strong similarities between the United States and Austria in cultural barriers (bureaucratic culture, resistance to change, risk aversion) but also in structural barriers (political commitment and resources, workforce) to digital government. The main difference lies in laws and regulations as structural barriers, stemming from the different administrative traditions. Furthermore, the study highlights the dynamic nature of barriers. It shows that a crisis can result in the lowering of both structural as well as cultural barriers. Deliberate removal of structural barriers in experimentation spaces may therefore enhance digital government in ‘orderly’ times as well.Points for practitionersKnowing how to overcome certain barriers is essential in innovation processes. This study shows that windows of opportunity can be opened by a crisis, but also provides key learnings for policy measures that can be taken in ‘orderly’ times. Public administrations require space where structural barriers are deliberately removed in order to experiment and learn, which can lower cultural barriers to digital government as well.
Digital government has been an evolving topic in research and practice, and during the COVID-19 crisis, different tools emerged as crucial elements in tackling the crisis. Comparing the federal level in the United States (Anglo-Saxon public interest culture) and in Austria (continental European rule-of-law culture), this article looks at how different barriers to digital government were affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Fourteen semi-structured interviews with experts in United States departments and their Austrian counterparts are conducted. The results show strong similarities between the United States and Austria in cultural barriers (bureaucratic culture, resistance to change, risk aversion) but also in structural barriers (political commitment and resources, workforce) to digital government. The main difference lies in laws and regulations as structural barriers, stemming from the different administrative traditions. Furthermore, the study highlights the dynamic nature of barriers. It shows that a crisis can result in the lowering of both structural as well as cultural barriers. Deliberate removal of structural barriers in experimentation spaces may therefore enhance digital government in ‘orderly’ times as well.Points for practitionersKnowing how to overcome certain barriers is essential in innovation processes. This study shows that windows of opportunity can be opened by a crisis, but also provides key learnings for policy measures that can be taken in ‘orderly’ times. Public administrations require space where structural barriers are deliberately removed in order to experiment and learn, which can lower cultural barriers to digital government as well.
How does policy attention affect e-government performance? The role of resource allocation and public–private collaboration
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
Although governments are continually investing in e-government construction, differences in e-government performance exist. This study aims to examine how policy attention affects e-government performance through the mediating effect of resource allocation and the moderating effect of public–private collaboration. Analysis of panel data from 333 prefectural governments in China confirms that policy attention can increase e-government performance, but the effect size decreases under the mediating role of financial and human resources. Furthermore, higher public–private collaboration weakens the positive effect of government resources on e-government performance and policy attention on e-government performance.Points for practitionersThis article can help practitioners recognize the importance of policy attention in guiding e-government implementation by verifying policy attention–resource allocation–e-government performance association. Moreover, this study also provides some suggestions for practitioners seeking to collaborate with private organizations by confirming the negative role of public–private collaboration between government resources and e-government performance.
Although governments are continually investing in e-government construction, differences in e-government performance exist. This study aims to examine how policy attention affects e-government performance through the mediating effect of resource allocation and the moderating effect of public–private collaboration. Analysis of panel data from 333 prefectural governments in China confirms that policy attention can increase e-government performance, but the effect size decreases under the mediating role of financial and human resources. Furthermore, higher public–private collaboration weakens the positive effect of government resources on e-government performance and policy attention on e-government performance.Points for practitionersThis article can help practitioners recognize the importance of policy attention in guiding e-government implementation by verifying policy attention–resource allocation–e-government performance association. Moreover, this study also provides some suggestions for practitioners seeking to collaborate with private organizations by confirming the negative role of public–private collaboration between government resources and e-government performance.
Digitalization of public administration in EU member states in times of crisis: the contributions of the national recovery and resilience plans
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
This article explores, in a comparative manner, the state-of-play of digital transformation of public administration in EU Member States. Using a specific methodological toolkit that combines policy and statistical analysis for each EU Member State, this article evaluates the investments in the digitalization of public services, the use of broadband, the access to digital public services, the number of e-government users, the level of digital public services for citizens and businesses and open data. In our analysis, we will argue that the gaps and discrepancies in the field of digitalization of public administration, correlated with the indicators monitored in the Digital Economy and Society Index, have conditioned the EU Member States to design specific actions, measures and investments related to the national context.Points for practitioners The gaps and discrepancies concerning the digitalization of public administration are analyzed and evaluated in relation to the state-of-play of digital transformation of public administration in EU Member States, correlated with the objectives and funding allocated to the digitalization pillar of the NRRP.The digitalization gap is measured by identifying and evaluating quantifiable indicators.Evaluations regarding the pillar of the digital transformation of public administration at national and regional levels are available, allowing comparative analyses to be carried out.
This article explores, in a comparative manner, the state-of-play of digital transformation of public administration in EU Member States. Using a specific methodological toolkit that combines policy and statistical analysis for each EU Member State, this article evaluates the investments in the digitalization of public services, the use of broadband, the access to digital public services, the number of e-government users, the level of digital public services for citizens and businesses and open data. In our analysis, we will argue that the gaps and discrepancies in the field of digitalization of public administration, correlated with the indicators monitored in the Digital Economy and Society Index, have conditioned the EU Member States to design specific actions, measures and investments related to the national context.Points for practitioners The gaps and discrepancies concerning the digitalization of public administration are analyzed and evaluated in relation to the state-of-play of digital transformation of public administration in EU Member States, correlated with the objectives and funding allocated to the digitalization pillar of the NRRP.The digitalization gap is measured by identifying and evaluating quantifiable indicators.Evaluations regarding the pillar of the digital transformation of public administration at national and regional levels are available, allowing comparative analyses to be carried out.
Rethinking marine plastics pollution: Science diplomacy and multi-level governance
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
Although science diplomacy has been gaining relevance in foreign policy to solve environmental challenges, critical questions concerning what different instruments mean under the term ‘science diplomacy’ and whether science diplomacy does contribute to the progress in solving environmental issues remain unanswered. We explore those questions by linking science diplomacy salient features through documentary analysis of international instruments addressing the plastics pollution in the ocean. We find that from a science diplomacy and multi-level governance perspective, the responsibilities and capabilities of emergent actors of cross-level governance are also important, leading to more attention being paid to changes in the role of national authorities, away from passive leadership to cross-cutting coalitions supported by the salient features of science diplomacy, and redefining dominant discursive approaches that have framed plastics waste.Points for practitionersAs a result of the cost and limitations of the current international mechanisms, there is currently no incentive for individual countries to take action against marine plastic pollution.Science diplomacy and multi-level governance can contribute to international cooperation, foreign policy and national strategies.Leading efforts to engage countries with fewer scientific and technological capabilities could benefit countries’ foreign policy.
Although science diplomacy has been gaining relevance in foreign policy to solve environmental challenges, critical questions concerning what different instruments mean under the term ‘science diplomacy’ and whether science diplomacy does contribute to the progress in solving environmental issues remain unanswered. We explore those questions by linking science diplomacy salient features through documentary analysis of international instruments addressing the plastics pollution in the ocean. We find that from a science diplomacy and multi-level governance perspective, the responsibilities and capabilities of emergent actors of cross-level governance are also important, leading to more attention being paid to changes in the role of national authorities, away from passive leadership to cross-cutting coalitions supported by the salient features of science diplomacy, and redefining dominant discursive approaches that have framed plastics waste.Points for practitionersAs a result of the cost and limitations of the current international mechanisms, there is currently no incentive for individual countries to take action against marine plastic pollution.Science diplomacy and multi-level governance can contribute to international cooperation, foreign policy and national strategies.Leading efforts to engage countries with fewer scientific and technological capabilities could benefit countries’ foreign policy.