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Avoiding Blame—A Comprehensive Framework and the A ustralian H ome I nsulation P rogram F iasco
Author(s) -
Hinterleitner Markus,
Sager Fritz
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
policy studies journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1541-0072
pISSN - 0190-292X
DOI - 10.1111/psj.12088
Subject(s) - blame , context (archaeology) , politics , stock (firearms) , political science , process (computing) , positive economics , psychology , public relations , public economics , business , social psychology , economics , computer science , engineering , geography , law , mechanical engineering , archaeology , operating system
It is widely acknowledged in the literature that the study of blame avoidance behavior ( BAB ) exhibited by public officials is scattered and unconcentrated, and that, for the most part, it neglects both contextual factors and comparative research. These deficits inhibit the production of the kind of generalized findings necessary to better understand potential consequences for the policy process and the workings of political systems. We address these deficits by developing a framework that takes stock of blame avoidance research, clarifies the explanatory potential of contextual factors, and allows for a systematic context‐sensitive cross‐case analysis. For illustrative purposes, the framework is applied to the H ome I nsulation P rogram in A ustralia as a critical case. This case reveals the explanatory potential of contextual factors for the understanding of BAB and the consequences thereof. We conclude by stating the advantages of our framework and explain how it can be used for comparative research.