| 2012 Research Articles Competitors and Cooperators: A Micro-Level Analysis of Regional Economic Development Collaboration Networks Predispositions and orientation toward cooperation or competition with other jurisdictions can play a critical role in implementing regional collaboration. By examining collaboration at the micro level, In-Won Lee (Dankook University), Richard C. Feiock (Florida State University), and Youngmi Lee (University of Michigan) investigate how individual factors, including perceptions of cooperation and competition, as well as institutional and environmental factors, are related to regional collaboration. In particular, they assert that competitive motivation may support the emergence of regional governance mechanisms. This article explores the relationships between competitive/cooperative motivations and interlocal collaboration networks based on a network survey conducted in the Orlando, Florida, metropolitan area. The authors apply a quadratic assignment procedure regression analysis to examine how dyadic conceptual ties of cooperation and competition, along with the effect of community characteristics, affect policy network structures for economic development. By comparing estimated coefficients with sampling distributions of coefficients from all of the permuted data sets, the regression results indicate the influences of perceived competition/cooperation on the network exchange. Link to PAR Online Article A Framework for Assessing Power in Collaborative Governance Processes The growing use of collaborative methods of governance raises concerns about the relative power of participants in such processes and the potential for exclusion or domination of some parties. Jill M. Purdy (University of Washington Tacoma) offers a framework for assessing power that considers authority, resources, and discursive legitimacy as sources of power and considers the participants, the process design, and the content of collaborative governance processes as arenas for power use. A case study of a collaborative governance process is presented and analyzed using the power framework. Implications for the design of collaborative governance processes are discussed, including the benefits of a multidimensional definition of power, tools for managing power imbalances among participants, and strategies that participants can use to participate more fully in collaborative governance processes. Link to PAR Online Article Developing and Testing a Theoretical Framework for Computer-Mediated Transparency of Local Governments Stephan G. Grimmelikhuijsen (Utrecht University, The Netherlands) and Eric W. Welch (University of Illinois at Chicago) contribute to the emerging literature on transparency by developing and empirically testing a theoretical framework that explains the determinants of local government Web site transparency. They aim to answer the following central question: What institutional factors determine the different dimensions of government transparency? The framework distinguishes three dimensions of transparency-decision making transparency, policy information transparency, and policy outcome transparency-and hypothesizes three explanations for each: organizational capacity, political influence, and group influence on government. Results indicate that each dimension of transparency is associated with different factors. Decision-making transparency is associated with political influence; when left-wing parties are strong in the local council, local government tends to be more transparent. Policy information transparency is associated with media attention and external group pressure, and policy outcome transparency is associated with both external group pressure and the organizational capacity. The authors discuss the implications for policy and administration. Link to PAR Online Article Outsourcing Public Service Delivery: Management Responses in Noncompetitive Markets Capturing the benefits of competition is a key argument for outsourcing public services, yet public service markets often lack sufficient competition. Amanda M. Girth (The Ohio State University), Amir Hefetz (University of Haifa, Israel), Jocelyn M. Johnston (American University), and Mildred E. Warner (Cornell University) use survey and interview data from U.S. local governments to explore the responses of public managers to noncompetitive markets. This research indicates that competition is weak in most local government markets (fewer than two alternative providers on average across 67 services measured), and that the relationship between competition and contracting choice varies by service type. Public managers respond to suboptimal market competition by intervening with strategies designed to create, sustain, and enhance provider markets. In monopoly service markets, managers are more likely to use intergovernmental contracting, while for-profit contracting is more common in more competitive service markets. The strategies that public managers employ to build and sustain competition for contracts often require tangible investments of administrative resources that add to the transaction costs of contracting in noncompetitive markets. Link to PAR Online Article Does Person―Organization Fit Matter in the Public Sector? Testing the Mediating Effect of Person―Organization Fit in the Relationship between Public Service Motivation and Work Attitudes Public service motivation theory suggests that public service motivation is positively related to work attitudes, but person―organization fit theory assumes that person―organization fit completely mediates the relationship between public service motivation and work attitudes of public employees. Sangmook Kim (Seoul National University of Science and Technology, South Korea) investigates which theory better predicts attitudes toward work, such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment of public employees, by testing hypotheses on (1) whether public service motivation directly influences work attitudes, or (2) whether person―organization fit mediates the relationship between public service motivation and work attitudes, or (3) whether both hypotheses are true. Using survey data on civil servants in Korea, this article shows that public service motivation has not only a direct effect on but also an indirect effect on job satisfaction and organizational commitment through its influence on person―organization fit. Link to PAR Online Article Capacity to Sustain Sustainability: A Study of U.S. Cities Why do some governments implement more sustainability practices than others? Based on a national survey of U.S. cities, XiaoHu Wang (City University of Hong Kong, China), Christopher V. Hawkins, Nick Lebredo (University of Central Florida), and Evan M. Berman (National Chengchi University, Taiwan) find moderate levels of sustainability efforts and capacity in U.S. cities; about one-third of the sustainability practices identified in this article have been implemented. The authors conclude that, first, capacity building is a useful conceptual focus for understanding sustainability implementation in U.S. cities. Capacity building involves developing technical and financial support and increasing managerial execution. Second, sustainability is strongly associated with managerial capacity, which includes establishing sustainability goals, incorporating goals in operations, and developing a supportive infrastructure. Third, getting stakeholders involved furthers the capacity for sustaining sustainability efforts. Citizen involvement is strongly associated with securing financial support for sustainability. Link to PAR Online Article |