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The Robustness of National Agency Governance in Integrated Administrative Systems: Evidence from a large‐scale study
Author(s) -
Trondal Jarle,
Haslerud Gjermund,
Kühn Nadja S.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
public administration review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.721
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1540-6210
pISSN - 0033-3352
DOI - 10.1111/puar.13309
Subject(s) - moderation , corporate governance , robustness (evolution) , agency (philosophy) , multiplicative function , public administration , multilevel model , government (linguistics) , political science , business , economics , sociology , management , social psychology , psychology , mathematics , statistics , social science , biochemistry , chemistry , mathematical analysis , gene , linguistics , philosophy
This article examines government agencies facing choice architectures that are multiple, overlapping, ambiguous, and sometimes incompatible—in short: turbulent. It makes two contributions: First, two conceptual images of agency governance are outlined that derive distinct predictions on how agencies are likely to maneuver when embedded in integrated multilevel administrative orders. Secondly, benefitting from a large‐ N dataset on agency officials ( N = 1,963) from 47 government agencies, the study suggests that government agencies are primarily biased towards a pragmatist compound dynamic. Additionally, the analysis probes the robustness of these conceptual images by entering moderator variables into the analysis. Multiplicative interaction model analysis suggests that the compound dynamic of agency governance is robust because no moderator variables fundamentally transform relationships from one governance type to another.