Representative bureaucracy, organizational strategy, and public service performance: An empirical analysis of english local government

Rhys Andrews; George A. Boyne; Kenneth J. Meier; Laurence J. O'Toole Jr.; Richard M. Walker

doi:10.1093/jopart/mui032

Representative bureaucracy, organizational strategy, and public service performance : An empirical analysis of english local government

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 62 - Review of books or of software (or similar publications/items) › peer-review

Overview

160 Scopus Citations

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Author(s)

Rhys Andrews
George A. Boyne
Kenneth J. Meier
Laurence J. O'Toole Jr.
Richard M. Walker

Detail(s)

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	489-504
Journal / Publication	Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory
Volume	15
Issue number	4
Publication status	Published - Oct 2005
Externally published	Yes

Link(s)

DOI	DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mui032 Final Published version
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Link to Scopus	https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-24644490711&origin=recordpage
Permanent Link	https://scholars.cityu.edu.hk/en/publications/publication(fc74010f-c2c5-49d9-bedd-828b9085e3e3).html

Abstract

The theory of representative bureaucracy suggests that organizations perform better if their workforces reflect the characteristics of their constituent populations. The management literature implies that the impact of representative bureaucracy is contingent on organizational strategy. Our empirical evidence on English local government is inconsistent with the basic theory of representative bureaucracy but supports a moderating effect of organizational strategy. Representative bureaucracy is negatively associated with citizens' perceptions of local authority performance. However, organizations pursuing a prospector strategy are able to mitigate this negative relationship.