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Expanding the theoretical boundaries of active representation: Clients' deservedness of service in the 911 emergency system
Author(s) -
Zamboni Lucila M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.313
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-9299
pISSN - 0033-3298
DOI - 10.1111/padm.12624
Subject(s) - bureaucracy , situated , representation (politics) , context (archaeology) , limiting , service (business) , intersection (aeronautics) , public relations , social psychology , sociology , psychology , political science , business , computer science , marketing , engineering , geography , law , artificial intelligence , mechanical engineering , archaeology , aerospace engineering , politics
The objective of this study was to explore how emergency responders' experience, beliefs and organizational context influence their decision‐making processes and their interaction with their clients. The study includes 27 interviews with 911 emergency responders to unveil the underlying factors which lead responders to act in favour of some of their clients, that is, actively represent them, while limiting their representation of others. The study is situated at the intersection between the street‐level bureaucracy and representative bureaucracy literatures. Building on symbolic representation, this study argues that active representation is shaped by factors beyond mere socio‐demographic characteristics and organizational or group identities. By focusing the analysis on the attitudes of the bureaucrats themselves, this study provides initial evidence to support Meier's recent hypotheses in his micro‐theory of representative bureaucracy.