Sanja Korac

The discretionary use of performance information by different local government actors – analysing and comparing the predictive power of three factor sets

In recent years, empirical research on performance information use has gained momentum, but quantitative studies, which include different actor groups, are less widespread. Building on prior research within this field, our study offers insights into various antecedents for performance information use – including individual, performance-measurement-specific, and organizational context factors. By applying a quantitative survey of different actor groups at the local government level in Austria, we draw a picture of different user profiles for mayors with administrative authority, chief officials and chief financial officials. Hence, we are able to confirm findings from former studies with other national backgrounds and contribute to a better understanding regarding some new individual aspects influencing discretionary performance information use in a strategy formulation context. Points for practitioners It is important to gather insights on the factors driving performance information use, as the latter is a crucial indicator for whether the introduction of performance measurement is worth the effort. Moreover, the results show that the performance information use intensity of mayors, chief officials and chief financial officials is driven by different factors. The study not only contributes to a better understanding of performance measurement utilization in general, but also points to the existence of different user profiles, therefore offering implications for the development of performance management implementation strategies.

Analysing the environmental antecedents of innovation adoption among politicians and public managers

ABSTRACT This study presents evidence on public innovation from the perspectives of politicians and public managers. Environmental antecedents are analysed with regard to their impact on innovation adoption. Data are drawn from a survey of over 600 mayors and managers in Austrian local government. Results show that they identify the same innovation types but indicate different antecedents of innovation adoption. Findings for managers are broadly in line with results from larger jurisdictions. Since there are crucial dissimilarities in the factors explaining the adoption of innovation, we suggest that politicians and managers both be included in future studies of local government innovation.

Gender Budgeting – Ein Weg zur Geschlechtergerechtigkeit bei der Verteilung öffentlicher Mittel?

Ausgehend vom Konzept des Gender Mainstreaming wird der Frage nachgegangen, inwiefern Gender Budgeting „ein Weg zur Geschlechtergerechtigkeit bei der Verteilung offentlicher Mittel“ sein kann. Gender Budgeting ist ein finanzpolitisches Analyse- und Steuerungsinstrument zur Untersuchung und Sichtbarmachung der geschlechtsspezifischen Dimensionen der offentlichen Haushaltsplanung (gleichgultig ob auf institutioneller, kommunaler, regionaler, nationaler oder internationaler Ebene). Offentliche Budgets konnen sowohl auf der Einnahmenseite (z. B. Steuern und Abgaben) als auch auf der Ausgabenseite (z. B. Forderungen) Auswirkungen haben, die bestehende Geschlechterdifferenzen verstarken und insofern nicht geschlechtergerecht sind. Die Autorinnen zeigen, nach einer Begriffsklarung, wie und auf welchen Ebenen das Instrument eingesetzt werden kann, und belegen ihre Ausfuhrungen mit Beispielen aus Deutschland und Osterreich.

Genderspezifische Aspekte öffentlicher Ausgaben – Ausgewählte Aufgabenbereiche des öffentlichen Sektors in Deutschland

Durch die Generierung von Einnahmen und das Tatigen von Ausgaben sorgt die offentliche Hand fur die Umverteilung von Einkommen. Dieses Kapitel beschaftigt sich damit, wie der offentliche Sektor uber die Gestaltung seiner Ausgaben in unterschiedlichen Aufgabenbereichen politische Ziele wie jenes der Geschlechtergleichstellung beeinflussen kann. Die Autor_innen geben auch eine kurze Ubersicht uber unterschiedliche Herangehensweisen, die Auswirkungen offentlicher Ausgaben zu analysieren. Den konkreten Untersuchungen fur Deutschland liegt ein Erwerbslebenszyklus zugrunde, d. h. die Autor_innen analysieren die Effekte in den Aufgabenbereichen Bildung, Kinderbetreuung und Pensionen bzw. Renten.

Factors Affecting the Preference for Public Sector Employment at the Pre-Entry Level: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT: Public sector personnel management faces severe challenges. Different long-term challenges contribute to a rising competition over the future workforce. This has sparked stark academic interest and a debate on possible existing differences between (potential) public and private sector employees has been gaining new ground. Public service motivation (PSM) can be identified as one of the crucial pieces of the puzzle of what drives preferences for public sector employment. However, despite the significant rise in the number of studies on occupational choice, more clarity is needed on what factors drive, and—equally important—hinder preferences for employment in the public sector. This systematic review provides a consolidation of extant findings on preference for public sector employment at the pre-entry level and thus possible future employees. We assess and summarize the research progress in this field in terms of theories, methods, and measurement. In doing so, we do not only contribute to a more balanced view of prior results, but also raise questions about the relevance and (future) role of PSM in occupational choice and highlight important issues that need to be addressed in future research.

Financial Resilience at the Root of the Crisis – Michigan, U.S.

Abstract The United States (U.S.) has been described as the root of the global financial crisis. The events of the financial, sovereign debt, and Euro crisis and the accompanying economic turmoil that have spread throughout most of the Western world have been traced back to the excessive consumer borrowing, sub-prime mortgage lending and ultimately the housing bubble in the United States. Its burst in 2008 created a shock that overshadowed prior recession and fiscal stress of governmental entities in the United States. Deriving over 90% of their own tax revenues from property taxes, local governments in Michigan have been hit even more excessively. However, the cases analysed in this chapter not only tell a unique story of deep shock and legacy costs, but also of creative ways of surviving the crisis, exerting different patterns of financial resilience. In general, state regulations restricted buffering the impact, and some cities additionally suffered from their geographical vicinity to and economic dependency on Detroit, a city that stands for the turbulence of the U.S. automobile industry. After first deploying buffering capacities that still existed, two cases saw the crisis as an opportunity to address their vulnerabilities (reactive adapters), an opportunity that was not recognised in the case of a constrained adapter. In contrast, one case showed strong anticipatory and coping capacities that have been built up in the past, equipping the local government to operate in a lean and efficient way, and to proactively adapt to arising shocks.

Beatriz Cuadrado-Ballesteros and Isabel Mária García-Sánchez, Local governments in the digital era. Looking for accountability

Digitalization has been a core concept in many government strategies, reform or reinvention plans, and attempts to deliver higher quality public services while keeping costs low. The rapid developm...

Austria – Building Capacities Versus Resting on Laurels

Abstract Unfolding almost a decade ago, the global financial crisis still affects governments all over the world. Austria has been hit only moderately, showing one of the lowest debt and unemployment levels in the European Union throughout the crisis years. However, the crisis’ aftermath affected the financial situation of Austrian local governments significantly. Although they are self-administered and exert high political and functional autonomy, local governments rely heavily on shared tax revenues with the federal level. These shared revenues as well as local governments’ own tax revenues declined, mirroring the economic turmoil following the financial crisis. This chapter aims to explore how Austrian local governments responded to these challenges. It does so by investigating the contextual conditions as well as internal capacities through the lens of financial resilience. All four cases included in the analysis highlighted that institutional conditions and general trends, e.g. tasks devolved from upper levels of government without sufficient compensation, limit their ability to cope with financial shocks. In this context, different patterns of financial resilience can be observed. While two cases initially showed low anticipatory and coping capacities, awareness of decision-makers resulted in building internal capacities and in making necessary changes early or as a response to the shock. The other two, however, seem to rest on their laurels of strong capacities in the past, and to rely mainly on their buffering capacities in reacting to shocks, thus increasing their vulnerability in the future.

Intellectual capital steering in universities – realizing an external/internal governance fit?

The expansion of competition within the Austrian higher education sector has accelerated the pressure on identifying and applying effective procedures on the management of intellectual capital (IC) - a key success criterion and of central interest for our knowledge-driven society - within academic facilities. Triggered by a general call for more accountability and transparency a new steering instrument is meant to meet these demands by obliging state universities in Austria to apply a complex performance reporting system, such as the IC statement, which forms the basis for the introduction of performance based funding mechanisms.