Honor List and Shame Roll: Quasi-Experimental Evidence of the Effect of Performance Feedback under Political Control

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Wei, Wenchi; Wang, Chengwei; Zhai, Wenkang; Li, Wenzhao
• 署名单位: Renmin University of China; City University of Hong Kong
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH AND THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1053-1858
• DOI: 10.1093/jopart/muac011
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 122-138
• 关键词: regression discontinuity designs; organizational performance; RESOURCE DEPENDENCE; managerial performance; economic-performance; public organizations; bounded rationality; aspiration levels; behavioral-model; management

摘要

This article examines how the use of an honor list and shame roll as a means of performance feedback can influence governments' future performance improvement, focusing on a prominent performance management reform implemented in Chinese local governments. We draw upon classic behavioral theories of organizations to propose testable hypotheses. The empirical analyses use 3,300 observations based on the 333 grassroots governments of the capital city of China as the unit of analysis. Regression discontinuity design estimations show that entering the honor list reduces governments' performance improvement in the next period, while entering the shame roll helps governments improve their performance. Moreover, the level of performance improvement is higher at the cutoff for both the honor list and shame roll if governments rely more on the higher authority's fiscal resources. This study advances a more nuanced understanding of the performance feedback effect under political control and a rigid administrative hierarchy.