Formalization and consistency heighten organizational rule following: Experimental and survey evidence

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Borry, Erin L.; DeHart-Davis, Leisha; Kaufmann, Wesley; Merritt, Cullen C.; Mohr, Zachary; Tummers, Lars
• 署名单位: University of Alabama System; University of Alabama Birmingham; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Tilburg University; Purdue University System; Purdue University; Purdue University in Indianapolis; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Charlotte; Utrecht University
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3298
• DOI: 10.1111/padm.12407
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 368-385
• 关键词: Red tape; bureaucratic structure; procedural justice; public-sector; green tape; implementation; dimensions; legitimacy; management; attitudes

摘要

This study examines the attributes of organizational rules that influence rule following. Rule following fosters organizational effectiveness by aligning individual behaviours with organizational preference. While a range of theoretical explanations have been offered for rule following, the characteristics of rule design and implementation have received less empirical attention. Borrowing from the green tape theory of effective rules, this study examines the influence of two particular characteristicsrule formalization and rule consistencyon rule following. Three studies, which include two vignette experiments and a survey of two local government organizations, provide the data for the research. The results suggest that rule formalization and rule consistency independently increase rule following, with mixed evidence of interaction effects. The broad implication is that public managers must attend to both rule design and implementation to foster organizational rule following.