What Influences Bureaucrats’ Support for Red Tape Reduction Reform in Taipei City Government?

ABSTRACT

Resistance from bureaucrats affected by the reforms is an often-cited challenge and it is important to know what influences their support for reform. Based on theories of organizational change, this paper examines how bureaucrats’ perceptions of reform benefits and risks, process and context influence their support for a structural reform in Taipei city government. Interviews of key informants were conducted to identify potential risks and benefits involved in the reform. An online survey was used to collect data to test the relationship between reform benefits, risks, process, context and reform support. The analysis confirms a positive relationship between individual efficiency gains and reform support, and of a negative relationship between risk of decision-making quality and reform support. The context of reform, demonstrated by the level of red tape, also enhances bureaucrats’ support for reform. This study provides important evidence of public sector reform beyond the U.S. context. Implications for future practices and research are provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Organizational change
• public sector reform
• red tape
• Taipei city government
• government reform

Notes on Contributors

Mei Jen Hung is an assistant professor at Graduate Institute of Public Affairs, National Taiwan University. Her research field includes bureaucracy, government reforms, collaborative government and e-government.

Declaration of interest statement

The author declares that she has no conflicts of interests.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science, Taiwan, R.O.C. under Grant [105-2410-H-002-021-].