Principal–Agent or Principal–Steward: How Ministry–Agency Relations Condition the Impact of Performance Management in the Steering of Government Agencies
| Autor: | Karl Hagen Bjurstrøm |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Government
Public Administration Performance management Strategy and Management 05 social sciences Stewardship theory Principal–agent problem Public administration 0506 political science Principal (commercial law) 0502 economics and business Agency (sociology) 050602 political science & public administration Christian ministry Stewardship Business 050203 business & management |
| Zdroj: | Public Performance & Management Review. 43:1053-1077 |
| ISSN: | 1557-9271 1530-9576 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/15309576.2020.1739087 |
| Popis: | Using agency and stewardship theories, this article investigates conditions that affect the impact of performance management in the ministerial steering of agencies. Agency theory assumes that agencies act opportunistically, leading to low trust between the ministry and the agency. Conversely, stewardship theory assumes that agencies act trustworthily. Arguably, however, in the steering of agencies, the impact of performance management depends on performance management practices and the type of ministry–agency relation. The effect of performance contract design and a top-down or bottom-up approach to performance management on the impact of performance management is analyzed in the context of whether the ministry–agency relation tends toward the principal–agent or principal–steward type. The data were obtained from a survey of bureaucrats employed in government agencies in Norway and a systematic analysis of official policy documents. The results show that a bottom-up approach increases the impact of performance management in principal–steward relations but not in principal–agent relations. Performance contract design has no effect on the impact of performance management, irrespective of relationship characteristics. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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