Internal Performance-Based Steering in Public Sector Organizations: Examining the Effect of Organizational Autonomy and External Result Control

ABSTRACT

The use of performance management techniques by public sector organizations is believed to lead to a more efficient and better-performing public sector. Using multicountry survey data, this article provides an understanding of the effect of organizational autonomy and external result control on the use of internal performance-based steering toward lower hierarchical levels in public sector organizations. Results show that result control matters, as does financial management autonomy, but no effects can be observed for personnel management autonomy.

KEYWORDS:

• autonomous agencies
• internal performance-based steering
• NPM

Notes

Cronbach’s α = 0.707.

For more information, see http://soc.kuleuven.be/io/cost/survey/index.htm. The different agency types and policy sectors are represented in a proportional way in the country-specific databases.

The Granger causality test is a statistical hypothesis test for determining whether one time series is useful in forecasting another (see Greene, 2003).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jan Wynen

Jan Wynen ([email protected]; [email protected]) is a post-doctoral researcher funded by FWO at both the KU Leuven Public Governance Institute and the Research Group on Public Administration & Management of the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences (KU Leuven) and two master degrees in economics. His main research interests are econometrics and public sector management.

Koen Verhoest

Koen Verhoest, Ph.D., is a research professor (ZAPBOF) in Comparative Public Administration and Globalization at the Department of Political Science (Research Group on Public Administration and Management) at the University of Antwerp. His main research interest is the organizational aspects of public tasks/regulation and their governance in multi-level and multi-actor contexts, including the autonomy, control and coordination of (regulatory and other) agencies, and the governance of (public private) partnerships. His work on organizational autonomy has been influential internationally.

He has published extensively in international journals on organization and regulation of public services such as Organization Studies, Governance, International Review of Administrative Sciences, Public Management Review, Policy Studies, and Public Administration and Development. Widely sold books include Autonomy and Control of State Agencies, The Coordination of Public Sector Organizations, and Government Agencies: Practices and Lessons from 30 Countries (all with co-authors published by Palgrave).