Does citizen coproduction of crisis response foster trust in local government? This study addresses this question by developing and testing a framework proposing that participation in community coproduction of crisis response (CCCR) enhances citizen trust through sense of control over daily life and perceived social capital generated during CCCR, and these processes are further conditioned by citizens’ pandemic risk perception. Using survey data collected from 1,106 urban residents during the 2022 COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, China, we find that participation in CCCR generally strengthens trust in municipal government. The results show that this effect occurs primarily because participation in CCCR increases perceived social capital, whereas no evidence is found for the proposed role of sense of control. Moreover, the trust-enhancing effect disappears when risk perception is high, because elevated risk perception reduces the extent to which CCCR generates perceived social capital. These findings contribute evidence from a crisis context to the longstanding debate on whether coproduction enhances trust and provide explanations on how participatory arrangements can sustain governance legitimacy.
The use of e-government has transformed public service delivery, however, the impact of this digital shift on citizens’ trust in government remains unclear. For this purpose, a systematic review of 49 peer-reviewed studies on the relationship between e-government use and citizens’ trust in government, published between 2004 and 2024, was conducted. This review traces the evolution of research focus, theoretical frameworks, and empirical findings in this field. Findings demonstrate a steady growth of interest, particularly in countries with advanced digital infrastructure. Most studies focus on service quality, transparency, data security, and user satisfaction as primary drivers of trust. Methodologically, quantitative, cross-sectional survey designs dominate the field, with limited use of qualitative and mixed-method approaches. Theoretically, many studies rely on technology adoption models and traditional trust frameworks, with limited attention to emerging technology features such as explainability or algorithmic transparency. This review contributes to the literature by mapping these theoretical and methodological patterns, identifying key gaps, and proposing a research agenda centered on actual use and emerging AI-based government services. It provides valuable insights for both scholars and policymakers seeking to understand and strengthen public trust in an increasingly digital public sector.
The evolving landscape of global governance (GG), characterized by increasing transnational crises, rising non-state actors, and shifting power dynamics and growing geopolitics, presents a profound challenge to the traditional doctrine of international relations or economics. This special issue provides an integrated analysis of six articles to collectively argue that Public Administration (PA) offers a critical and uniquely valuable lens for understanding and addressing these challenges. Moving beyond state-centric power politics, these papers demonstrate that the core concerns of PA, covering institutional capacity, policy implementation, network management, and creation of public value, are fundamental to the effectiveness and legitimacy of global governance. This paper will explore how these articles contribute to current debates by introducing innovative theoretical frameworks and methodologies, summarize their key arguments, and critically reflect on their limitations to chart a path for future research.
Although government digital transformation has become a central strategy for improving public service delivery, less is known about whether its benefits are distributed evenly across places with different digital conditions. Using China’s “Internet + Government Services” national pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment and a panel of 285 prefecture-level cities from 2010 to 2022, this paper examines both the average and distributive effects of digital government on public service provision. The results show that government digital transformation significantly improves public service provision efficiency on average, but these gains are highly uneven across cities. The effect is significantly stronger in cities with better pre-existing digital foundations and markedly weaker in cities facing more severe digital constraints. Further quantile-based evidence indicates a clear Matthew effect: digitally leading cities gain the most, whereas digitally lagging cities benefit far less. Mechanism analysis shows that digital transformation improves public service provision through stronger interdepartmental coordination, lower service provision costs, and information exchange between government and citizens. These findings suggest that digital government can enhance public service provision while also reinforcing disparities in public service gains under unequal initial conditions.
While interpersonal stressors are prevalent in public organizations, the underlying mechanisms of how they affect civil servants' behaviors remain limited. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, this study develops and tests a moderated mediation model to unpack the draining effect of interpersonal stressors on the work withdrawal behavior of township civil servants via the mediating role of deep acting. Political skill is further identified as a critical moderator in the proposed model. Using three-wave data from Chinese township civil servants, this study finds that township civil servants experiencing interpersonal stressors are more likely to exhibit work withdrawal behavior. Furthermore, deep acting partially mediates the relationship between interpersonal stressors and work withdrawal behavior of township civil servants. Additionally, political skill moderates the relationship between deep acting and work withdrawal behavior, such that this negative relationship is weaker at higher levels of political skill. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.
With China's development plan of "digital-intelligent transformation," the Smart City Pilot Policy (SCPP) initiative has played a unique role in disaster management since 2012. Based on three batches of China's smart pilot cities, this research harnesses the multi-period difference-in-differences method to empirically examine the SCPP impact on urban disaster resilience by adopting panel data from 102 sample cities between 2013 and 2023. The findings reveal the following aspects. (1) the SCPP significantly enhances the level of Urban Disaster Resilience (UDR) as defined, albeit with a time lag. (2) the SCPP primarily improves UDR by promoting technological empowerment and innovation driver. (3) Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that SCPP's impact varies by city scale and administrative level, and the positive effect is more pronounced for peripheral cities. This primary finding remains reliable after a series of robustness checks. This study provides insights for developing countries similar to China for promoting smart city construction and strengthening the capacity to lift urban disaster resilience.
This study examines how person-job fit influences the formation of public service motivation (PSM) among newly recruited civil servants under involuntary placement systems. Based on organizational socialization theory and the Ability-Motivation-Opportunity (AMO) framework, we propose a sequential mediation model linking person-job fit, self-efficacy, training evaluation, and public service motivation (PSM). Using survey data from 746 new civil servants in G Province, China (2020-2022), structural equation modeling and moderated mediation analyses were conducted. Results show that person-job fit significantly enhances PSM; self-efficacy and training evaluation jointly mediate this relationship, forming a sequential mechanism; and work environment and career development moderate the effect of job fit on self-efficacy, though not its direct effect on PSM. Findings highlight the importance of perceived fit and socialization context in fostering PSM in public sector entrants.
Procedural fairness has long been recognized as critical to citizen acceptance of urban renewal initiatives. However, research examining the underlying mechanisms of this relationship remains limited, hindering effective policy implementation. This study addresses this gap by investigating how relationship quality dimensions-specifically citizen satisfaction, citizen recognition, and citizen trust-mediate the link between procedural fairness and citizen acceptance. Drawing on survey data from 409 respondents across three communities in China that experienced urban renewal projects and employing structural equation modeling (SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) analysis, our findings demonstrate that procedural fairness positively influences citizen acceptance, with citizen satisfaction and citizen recognition serving as partial mediators in this relationship, while citizen trust shows no significant mediating effect. These findings advance the literature by elucidating the distinct procedural fairness pathways through which citizens develop acceptance toward urban renewal policies, while also revealing the nuanced roles that different relational dimensions play in this process.
Public service motivation is an important concept in public sector human resource management, yet scholarly understanding of its antecedents remains underdeveloped in the literature. This study examines how negative public opinion on social media influences public service motivation and employee behavior within Indonesia's customs administration. Employing an experimental design involving 217 civil servants, the findings indicate that negative public sentiment does not significantly diminish PSM. Conversely, perceived organizational justice positively correlates with PSM but does not moderate the relationship between public opinion and motivation. Under external reputational threats, employees tend to reorient their behavioral preferences toward programs aligned with public interest and institutional objectives. Furthermore, organizational tenure is positively related to both PSM and goal-directed behavior. These findings offer new insights into the cognitive and behavioral adaptation mechanisms of civil servants facing reputational threats and underscore the significance of psychological and institutional factors in sustaining motivation in the public sector.
The implementation of environmental policies is crucial for improving environmental quality and bolstering governmental legitimacy. It serves as a key indicator of the environmental performance of local governments. However, significant regional disparities exist in the outcomes of policy implementation, influenced by a variety of factors, including material resources and social contexts. This study investigates the relationship between policy implementation and environmental performance by conducting an empirical analysis using panel data regression models, covering 30 provincial units in mainland China from 2008 to 2023. The findings reveal that the effectiveness of policy implementation varies across different types of pollutants. Specifically, policy content factors-such as the delegation of authority and policy revision frequency-play a substantial role in air pollution control, while the role of implementation agencies and the availability of resources are critical in water pollution management. In contrast, flexible policy measures are most effective in solid waste governance. Additionally, regional governments exhibit varying capacities in addressing air, water, and solid waste pollution. The study concludes that there is a pressing need for the establishment of an integrated, cross-regional environmental management framework to ensure a more equitable and effective approach to mitigating environmental pollution.
Maintaining policy legitimacy has become increasingly complex amid shifting historical contexts and evolving public perceptions. Drawing on a longitudinal analysis of China's demolition policy (1991-2021), this study traces its legitimacy trajectory-from limited legitimacy to legitimacy breakdown and, ultimately, to regained legitimacy. Adopting the theoretical framework of institutional work, the study examines how governments engage in maintenance work in response to public feedback to continuously construct policy legitimacy. This study makes three theoretical contributions. First, it identifies the evolutionary mechanisms of policy legitimation through cognitive reconstruction and value co-creation, which reestablish institutionalized negotiation between the state and society. Second, it highlights the role of symbolic strategies in policy re-legitimation, demonstrating how meaning-making processes dynamically align policy objectives with public acceptance. Third, it reveals the strategic reflexivity of institutional work, illustrating the adaptive and agentic capacities of governments in the ongoing reconstruction of legitimacy.
Current scholarship lacks an integrated analysis of multi-level governance in stigma management within the public sector, notably in law enforcement. Using China's chengguan as a case study, this research develops a framework integrating individual, managerial, and organizational levels, with particular attention to strategic convergence and divergence. Grounded in the conventional categories of disengagement (e.g. avoidance) and engagement (e.g. confrontation) approaches, semi-structured interviews reveal that disengagement strategies dominate at the individual level. Engagement strategies, particularly reframing, boundary management, and emotion regulation, are applied across multiple levels, with distinct adaptations aligned to each level's specific roles. Key divergences emerge in information management, whereas refocusing and cooptation remain confined to the managerial and organizational levels, respectively. More significantly, the study identifies previously unexplored adjustment approaches (e.g. behavioral adjustments) to address stigma at its source. The study contributes a multi-level perspective to stigma management theory and offers practical implications for law enforcement agencies globally.
The sustainability of volunteer engagement is paramount for augmenting the effectiveness and quality of volunteerism. Prior research has predominantly focused on sustained volunteering within non-emergency contexts, with a notable absence of examination in emergency settings. This study addresses this gap by investigating the interplay between volunteers' motives, satisfaction, community identity, and sustained volunteering among 967 volunteers who responded to China's Omicron outbreak. The findings indicate that volunteers' value, social, and enhancement motives, and their satisfaction with the person-task congruence are positively associated with sustained volunteering in emergencies. In contrast, protective and understanding motives were found to have a negative correlation with sustained volunteering within emergency contexts. Furthermore, community identity positively moderated the relationship between volunteers' motives and sustained volunteering. These insights contribute to the understanding of the determinants of sustained volunteering in emergencies.
Global environmental challenges demand cross-border collaboration. While international organizations play a pivotal role in facilitating such collaboration, the dynamics of collaboration networks among states remain underexplored. This study investigates the formation of environmental collaboration networks within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) from 2006 to 2021, employing a Temporal Exponential Random Graph Model (TERGM) to analyze the roles of actor-based and proximity-based homophily. Key findings reveal that network density increased over time, with China and the United States emerging as central contributors, while emerging economies like Vietnam and Thailand gained more prominence in recent years. Notably, collaboration extended beyond geographical proximity, highlighting the importance of trade linkages and institutional similarity in shaping partnerships. Contrary to expectations, actor-based homophily shows limited influence, whereas proximity-based factors (e.g. trade distance and institutional distance) significantly drive collaboration. These insights advance understanding of regional environmental governance and underscore the complex interplay of homophily in fostering international collaboration.
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform the contemporary global order, its governance has emerged as a paramount challenge at the intersection of technological innovation and institutional frameworks, marked distinctively by the ascendance of Big Tech companies as formidable new actors in the international arena. This paper examines how Big Tech companies are reshaping global AI governance landscapes through their unprecedented technological capabilities and market influence. While existing literature acknowledges the growing authority of non-state actors in global governance, limited attention has been paid to the distinct mechanisms through which Big Tech companies influence AI governance dynamics. Drawing on new institutional theory and its three-pillar framework, this study develops an integrated analytical framework to investigate three key mechanisms: regulative, normative, and cognitive. Using theory-testing process tracing methodology and taking Google as a critical case study, this research systematically analyzes how Big Tech companies leverage their technological resource endowments, self-regulatory practices, and epistemic authority to influence global AI governance. The findings reveal that Big Tech companies significantly shape governance outcomes through: (1) embedding technical feasibility parameters in formal regulations and standards through strategic deployment of expertise; (2) establishing normative authority through self-regulatory innovations that diffuse globally via multilateral platforms; and (3) shaping shared frameworks of meaning that define how governance challenges are conceptualized and addressed. This study contributes to both global governance and public management literature by theorizing Big Tech’s distinct role as super-sized non-state actors and demonstrating how new institutional theory can illuminate governance dynamics beyond national boundaries.
We live in an era marked by Black Swan events, making a clear conceptualization of risk essential for advancing public administration (PA) research. This study applies Aristotle’s rhetorical framework to analyze 302 articles from 40 PA journals, clarifying how risk is defined and suggesting future research directions. From the logos perspective, risk is framed objectively—primarily as the probability of adverse events—supporting studies on risk measurement and decision-making. The pathos perspective highlights the subjective dimension, emphasizing cognitive risk, risk culture, and perceptions of risk. The ethos perspective focuses on how risk is managed, defining it through unfavorable outcomes and pointing to new research avenues such as risk propensity and communication. By distinguishing these rhetorical lenses, this study not only reveals the multidimensional nature of risk in PA but also lays a foundation for more integrated and theoretically grounded risk research.
With the 2030 Agenda reaching its halfway mark, there is an increasing scholarly focus on the effective implementation of the SDGs in a manner that is comprehensive, synchronised, and equitable. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been widely acknowledged as a practical approach for evaluating the efficacy of development initiatives, addressing the challenges posed by conventional single-performance studies that hinder the assessment of multi-objective governance by quantifying the relative capacity to attain goals within resource limitations. This study analyses multidimensional development efficiency across areas and time. It uses a panel dataset from 2002 to 2019 to study efficiency trends and spatiotemporal interconnections. The findings indicate that there are notable temporal and regional variations in livelihood, education, and technology, as well as ecological and economic efficiencies. The eastern region has more significant economic development, resulting in higher overall efficiency. Conversely, the central and western areas, which are comparatively underdeveloped, are making progress in narrowing the gap with the eastern region. Technology, population movement, and other factors have caused geographical aggregation. The Global Malmquist Index Decomposition illustrates the inherent imbalance in multidimensional development efficiency and examines what drives underlying efficiency heterogeneity regarding technology and efficiency improvements. Furthermore, the development of a dynamic spatial Durbin model examines the presence of spatial spillover effects on multidimensional development efficiency across various directions and intensities in both the short and long run. This indicates that interregional interactions are bidirectional, considering resource limitations. This research provides novel insights into comprehending the complex and interconnected characteristics of sustainable development, hence contributing valuable policy implications for goal-based development governance.
The government plays a vital role in water pollution control in developing countries. Chinese local governments have launched the River Chief System (RCS) to reduce water pollution. The case of Taihu Lake in Wuxi City, which had major issues with water pollution, demonstrates how the RCS can address responsibility decentralization by changing the governance structure and creating political incentives for local government leaders. This study quantitatively evaluates the RCS policy effect using the difference-in-difference method by matching water quality and prefecture-level city data in China from 2004 to 2014. The results show that the RCS improves water quality. Furthermore, incorporating water quality metrics into the cadre evaluation system significantly enhances officials’ promotion prospects. Moreover, leaders are highly incentivized to achieve targets directly associated with their promotion. Placing political pressure on leaders by hanging the sword of Damocles over them is an effective strategy in governing the local commons.
This article presents a systematic literature review synthesis of 5-year research on Behavioral Public Administration (BPA) in the public sector contexts. Based on an analysis of 439 studies, significant antecedents, outcomes, and mediating and moderating mechanisms were identified. The findings revealed that BPA incorporates psychological constructs to comprehend decision-making processes within the public sector. Public Service Motivation emerged as the most frequently examined construct, followed by cognitive biases and nudges that significantly impact policy compliance and ethical behavior. Methodologically, the research was predominantly comprised of case studies and survey experiments. Theoretically, BPA bridges behavioral psychology and institutional theory but lacks sufficient integration of cultural frameworks. Future research should focus on contexts within the Global South, strengthening the association of BPA and public administration frameworks such as administrative burden, street-level bureaucracy, and public value. It should also expand experimental and mixed-method designs to explore the identity-related factors (e.g. gender and ethnicity) in bureaucratic behavior, adjusting to socio-political contexts and regional governance priorities. Culturally sensitive investigations to inform policy application and ensure relevance to diverse institutional settings.
