TY - JOUR
T1 - Playing defence
T2 - the impact of trust on the coping mechanisms of street-level bureaucrats
AU - Davidovitz, Maayan
AU - Cohen, Nissim
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2022/1/1
Y1 - 2022/1/1
N2 - According to public management literature, trust has a positive influence on behaviour. Why, then, do street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) appear to favour clients whom they do not trust, and give less attention to those they do trust? Do organizational conditions play a role in this dynamic? We investigate these issues as they affect Israeli social services providers. Our study improves our understanding of trust as a factor in public service delivery. When SLBs operate in an unsupportive environment, they prioritize clients whom they distrust, bending or breaking rules for them, yet ration services to clients whom they trust.
AB - According to public management literature, trust has a positive influence on behaviour. Why, then, do street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) appear to favour clients whom they do not trust, and give less attention to those they do trust? Do organizational conditions play a role in this dynamic? We investigate these issues as they affect Israeli social services providers. Our study improves our understanding of trust as a factor in public service delivery. When SLBs operate in an unsupportive environment, they prioritize clients whom they distrust, bending or breaking rules for them, yet ration services to clients whom they trust.
KW - Street-level bureaucrats
KW - coping
KW - discretion
KW - policy implementation
KW - trust
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091056499&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14719037.2020.1817532
DO - 10.1080/14719037.2020.1817532
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85091056499
SN - 1471-9037
VL - 24
SP - 279
EP - 300
JO - Public Management Review
JF - Public Management Review
IS - 2
ER -