The policy network approach is widely recognized for its ability to describe different networks. Adding the concepts 'policy image' and 'cleavage in the party system' makes it possible to explain policy network change as well as policy change. This argument is supported by a comparison of the Danish decision in 1960 to straighten Denmark's largest river, the Skjern River, to gain farmland, and …
Under the influence of the enlargement of the European Union, there is now a renewed concern for marginalization processes in rural areas. Especially in countries at the periphery of Europe, these processes often have a large-scale and multifaceted character. As agriculture and rural areas have become dissociated, the marginalization or success of the one no longer necessarily affects the other…
The article analyses the Spanish experience of EU compensatory rural policy in order to contribute to broader debates on the effectiveness of this kind of policy and the role of agriculture in the definition of European rural policies. In the case of Spain, compensatory allowances to mainly mountain farmers had little effect on economic trajectories or social cohesion because of the small sums …
In this article, we explore whether policy network theory can be applied in the People's Republic of China (PRC). We carried out a literature review of how this approach has already been dealt with in the Chinese policy sciences thus far. We then present the key concepts and research approach in policy networks theory in the Western literature and try these on a Chinese case to see the fit. We …
In the public administration literature, ways in which perceptions of red tape vary between different parts of the public sector remains relatively unexplored. In this article we define organizational red tape as a subject-dependent concept; that is, we expect to see variations in the level and type of red tape between different internal stakeholder groups. We then explain variations with two o…
The questions executive mayors face regarding the fulfillment of their leadership role often reveal dilemmas and paradoxes. The subject of this article is how executive mayors cope with these dilemmas and paradoxes and whether or not the selection procedure matters. It presents results of a comparison of English elected mayors' interpretations of three dilemmas and Dutch appointed mayors' expec…
This article reports a comparative study of human resource management (HRM) practices in Europe. We focus on the extent to which decision-making authority is decentralized, that is, passed down to management, and individualized in the sense of being in the discretion of a single decision maker. Using these two dimensions, this paper gives a picture of the distinct way HR decision-making practic…
Because of differences in institutional arrangements, public service markets, and national traditions regarding government intervention, local public service provision can vary greatly. In this paper we compare the procedures adopted by the local governments of The Netherlands and Spain in arranging for the provision of solid waste collection. We find that Spain faces a problem of consolidation…
The literature on comitology has largely ignored the European Commission's actual behaviour in the daily workings of the numerous comitology committees that were designed to control it. On the basis of survey data of Danish and Dutch representatives on nearly all comitology committees, this paper investigates the Commission's role in the system. We find that the Commission acts both as a mediat…
This article discusses the relation between administrative culture and the capacity to act. It analyses how the Dutch city of Rotterdam radically altered its safety and 'livability' approaches in the face of new challenges, and how the city used its cultural make-up and traditions in doing so. This takes its importance from that fact that local governments are almost continuously confronted wit…
Since the early 1990s, public networks have been implemented in many countries to solve 'wicked' public problems, addressing such issues as health, social care, local development and education. While considerable research has been carried out into public networks, both managers and scholars are left with some doubts about network effectiveness. In fact literature on this topic has been highly f…
Citizen surveys often measure service use as well as perceived performance, typically in the form of quality or satisfaction ratings. But little attention has been paid to the relationship between public service use and satisfaction. How do the service ratings or satisfaction judgements of frequent users differ from those of infrequent users? Is the direction of the use-satisfaction relationshi…
Claims that a particular policy has been a 'success' are commonplace in political life. However, a few of these claims are justified in any systematic way. This article seeks to remedy this omission by offering a heuristic which practitioners and academics can utilize to approach the question of whether a policy is, or was, successful. It builds initially on two sets of literature: Boyne's work…
The authors reviewed recently published research on small groups and teams to understand how within-team nonresponse is reported and handled. They used Monte Carlo simulation to investigate how data-handling choices affect measurement reliability and hypothesis testing under conditions of random and systematic nonresponse. More complete reporting of nonresponse is recommended by the authors, an…
This study proposes that individual competitive expectations play a critical role in understanding team performance, as expectations shape individual reactions to team behaviors. Expectations, of course, do not always match behavior. When an individual thinks a team task is going to be easy and cooperative and instead meets with competitive rather than cooperative behaviors, that individual is …
Social ostracism—being ignored or excluded—threatens needs for self-esteem, belongingness, control, and meaningful existence. In the conventional laboratory paradigms, a lone participant is ostracized by either confederates or imagined group members and then completes measures of threatened needs. This approach prohibits asking questions about the group dynamics involved in ostracism situations…
This article develops a theory about how motives behind organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) affect the amount of OCB reciprocated, group cohesion, and group performance. First, the article investigates the interpersonal exchange between peers and how motive perceived by the receiver affects his or her level of reciprocation. Second, it examines the individual attribute of interdependence …
This article integrates research on gendered organizations and the work-family interface to investigate an innovative workplace initiative, the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE), implemented in the corporate headquarters of Best Buy, Inc. While flexible work policies common in other organizations "accommodate" individuals, this initiative attempts a broader and deeper critique of the organiz…
In-depth interviews with white middle-class Dutch and American girls demonstrate two important differences in the cultural beliefs and processes that shape their negotiation of heterosexuality. First, Dutch girls are able to integrate their sexual selves into their relationships with their parents, while reconciling sexuality with daughterhood is difficult for the American girls. Second, Americ…
This research uses data from 18 countries to investigate cross-national differences in the effect that men’s income relative to their spouses has on their involvement in housework. The author hypothesizes that gender expectations will be more salient in men’s household bargaining in contexts where the traditionally masculine and breadwinning-related activities of paid work and earning income ar…