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The impact of state governance structures on management and performance of public organizations: A study of higher education institutions
Author(s) -
Knott Jack H.,
Payne A. Abigail
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of policy analysis and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.898
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1520-6688
pISSN - 0276-8739
DOI - 10.1002/pam.10176
Subject(s) - corporate governance , legislature , higher education , politics , public administration , agency (philosophy) , statute , state (computer science) , revenue , productivity , public relations , business , political science , economics , accounting , management , sociology , economic growth , law , social science , algorithm , computer science
Legislative statutes are passed by political majorities which support structures that insulate the implementingagency from its political opponents over time. Political actors also respond to different constituencies.Depending on the broad or narrow base of these constituencies, actors favor different kinds of governancestructures. We apply this theoretical framework to the question of whether the state governance structures ofboards of higher education affect the way university managers allocate resources, develop sources of revenue, andpromote research and undergraduate education. Over the past two decades state governments have given considerableattention to state governance issues, resulting in many universities operating in a more regulated setting today.This paper develops a classification of higher education structures and shows the effects of differences in thesestructures on university management and performance using a data set that covers the period from 1987 to 1998. Theanalysis suggests that, for most of the measures, productivity and resources are higher at universities with astatewide board that is more decentralized and has fewer regulatory powers. © 2004 by the Association forPublic Policy Analysis and Management.