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Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Attitude toward Clients: A Study of Work Group Influence in the Dutch and Belgian Tax Administration

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Classic street-level bureaucracy literature has suggested that individual bureaucrats are shaped by their work group. Work group colleagues can impact how bureaucrats perceive clients and how they behave toward them. Building on theories of work group socialization, social representation, and social identification, we investigate if and how the attitude of individual street-level bureaucrats toward clients is shaped by the client-attitude of the bureaucrat’s work group colleagues. We also test whether this relation is dependent on conditions of attitudinal homogeneity and perceived cohesion of the work group. Results of a survey among street-level bureaucrats in the Dutch and Belgian tax administration (1245 respondents from 210 work groups) suggest that different mechanisms underlie the work group’s impact on the individual street-level bureaucrat in this specific attitude. The analysis furthermore reveals that work groups have a limited impact on the individual’s client-attitude. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Source: Public Performance & Management Review

DOI: 10.1080/15309576.2019.1697303

Authors: Shelena Keulemans, Steven Van de Walle

Institutions: Radboud University Nijmegen, KU Leuven

Language: English

Topic: Public Policy and Administration Research

Subfield: Public Administration

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek

Award: G1299424009