Reporting multiple dimensions of public service performance: information order effects on citizens’ willingness to use services

ABSTRACT

Performance information can facilitate user choice of public services and enhance accountability. However, the public sector’s multiple performance dimensions create a potential for order effects on users’ responses to information arising from the sequence of information reporting. We assess order effects using a randomized survey experiment. In a school performance scenario, we find recency effects meaning that information late in a sequence impacts more than the same information placed earlier on. The findings suggest the potential for strategic presentation of information by providers but also a beneficial nudge to help users focus on performance dimensions most salient to them.

KEYWORDS:

• Performance information
• school choice
• order effects
• recency effects
• behavioural public administration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. In the pre-test, respondents were asked about their agreement with the following statement in relation to the individual items of information: ‘This information makes the school appeal to me as a parent.’ Possible answers were ‘1: Very strongly disagree,’ ‘2: Strongly disagree,’ ‘3: Disagree,’ ‘4: Disagree slightly,’ ‘5: Neither agree nor disagree,’ ‘6: Agree slightly,’ ‘7: Agree,’ ‘8: Strongly agree,’ and ‘9: Very strongly agree.’ Each respondent rated all neutral items of information and was randomly allocated to first receive either the positive or negative item of information. The positive information’s median rating fell in the category ‘agree’ (n = 18), and the negative information’s median rating fell in the category ‘disagree’ (n = 22). Neutral items of information had median ratings that fell between these responses.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Julian Christensen

Julian Christensen is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Political Science, Aarhus University. His research focuses mainly on citizens’ experiences of administrative burden during interactions with the state, distributive effects of administrative burdens, factors affecting decision makers’ support for policies that impose burdens on citizens, and the role of factual information in policy making and decision making more broadly. He has a PhD, MSc and BSc from Aarhus University.

Oliver James

Oliver James is professor of political science at the University of Exeter. He carries out research and teaching on topics including: governance and politics of public services, citizen–provider relationships, public sector organization and reform, executive politics (particularly politician–administrator relations) and regulation of publicly owned and/or funded bodies and services. He works with public sector organizations in the UK and elsewhere. Following his undergraduate BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at St Anne’s College, University of Oxford he completed his MSc and PhD at the London School of Economics, University of London.