When public participation in administration leads to trust : an empirical assesment of managers´ perceptions
By: Wang, XiaoHu
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Contributor(s): Wart, Montgomery Van.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: Malden, MA : Blackwell Publishers, March / April 2007Public Administration Review: PAR 67, 2, p. 265-278Abstract: This study empirically assesses the argument that public participation enhances public trust. A model was constructed to include five intermediate factors that might link participation and trust: consensus building, ethical behaviors, accountability practices, service competence, and managerial competence. As expected, participation does explain a significant amount of public trust. However, using path analysis, only two intermediate factorsethical behaviors and service competencewere found to significantly contribute to trust. Even successful consensus-building activities are not likely to enhance trust unless administrative performance improves. These results indicate that if increasing public trust is the primary goal, then the primary focus should be on administrative integrity and performance results
This study empirically assesses the argument that public participation enhances public trust. A model was constructed to include five intermediate factors that might link participation and trust: consensus building, ethical behaviors, accountability practices, service competence, and managerial competence. As expected, participation does explain a significant amount of public trust. However, using path analysis, only two intermediate factorsethical behaviors and service competencewere found to significantly contribute to trust. Even successful consensus-building activities are not likely to enhance trust unless administrative performance improves. These results indicate that if increasing public trust is the primary goal, then the primary focus should be on administrative integrity and performance results
Public administration review PAR
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