Representative Bureaucracy, Organizational Strategy, and Public Service Performance : An Empirical Analysis of English Local Government
By: Andrews, Rhys
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Contributor(s): BOYNE, George A | Meier, Kenneth J | JR.,Laurence J. O'Toole | WALKER, Richard M.
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ArticlePublisher: London, UK : Oxford journals, October 2005Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 15, 4, p. 489-504Abstract: 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.
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.
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