Abstract
In this article we address working across border in central government, focusing on the case of Norway. The first research question is descriptive: How much do civil servants participate in project and working groups inside ministries, across ministries, and between ministries and central agencies, and have there been changes over time? The second is explanatory: How can we use structural and demographic perspectives to explain the variation in cross-border activities according to individual and organizational features? We apply an analysis examining the effects of both individual features and organizational conditions of the ministries as a whole. The main results are that the collegial-cross boarder projects- and working groups tend to supplement the hierarchical ministerial organization and that cross border-collegial activities are due to both organizational conditions and individual features.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bogdanor, V. (Ed.). (2005). Joined-up government. British academy occasional paper 5. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bouckaert, G., Peters, B. G., & Verhoest, K. (2010). The coordination of public sector organizations: shifting pattern of public management. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Christensen, T., & Lægreid, P. (1998). Administrative reform policy: the case of Norway. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 64(3), 457–475.
Christensen, T., & Lægreid, P. (2007a). The whole-of-government approach to public sector reform. Public Administration Review, 67(6), 1057–1064.
Christensen, T., & Lægreid, P. (Eds.). (2007b). Transcending new public management. The transformation of public sector reforms. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Christensen, T., & Lægreid, P. (2008). The challenge of coordination in central government organizations: the Norwegian case. Public Organization Review: A Global Journal, 8(2), 97–116.
Christensen, T., & Lægreid, P. (2009a). NPM and beyond—leadership, culture and demography. International Journal of Administrative Sciences, 74(1), 5–21.
Christensen, T., & Lægreid, P. (2009b). Living in the past? Change and continuity in the Norwegian civil service. Public Administration Review, 69(5), 951–961.
Christensen, T., & Lægreid, P. (2011). Beyond NPM? Some development features. In T. Christensen & P. Lægreid (Eds.), The ashgate research companion to new public management. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Christensen, T., Lægreid, P., Roness, P. G., & Røvik, K. A. (2007). Organization theory and the public sector. Instrument, culture and myth. London: Routledge.
Dahl, R. A., & Lindblom, C. E. (1953). Politics, economics, and welfare. New York: Harper & Row.
Egeberg, M. (2003). How bureaucratic structure matters: an organizational perspective. In B. G. Peters & J. Pierre (Eds.), Handbook of public administration. London: Sage.
Eriksson, K. (2007). Spelar adressen någon roll? En studie av områdeseffekter på medborgares politiska deltagande (Does the address play a role? A study of the effects of geographical area in the political participation of citizens). Umeå: Statsvetenskapliga institutionen Umeå Universitet.
Gregory, R. (2003). All the King’s horses and all the King’s men: putting New Zealand’s public sector together again. International Public Management Review, 4(2), 41–58.
Gulick, L. H. (1937). Notes on the theory of organizations. With special reference to government. In L. H. Gulick & L. F. Urwick (Eds.), Papers on the science of administration. New York: A.M. Kelley.
Hox, J. (2002). Multilevel analysis. Techniques and applications. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Klein, K. J., & Kozlowski, S. W. J. (2000). A multilevel approach to theory and research in organizations’ contextual, temporal and emergent processes. In K. J. Klein & S. W. J. Kozlowski (Eds.), Multilevel theory, research, and methods in organizations. San Franscisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lægreid, P., & Olsen, J. P. (1978). Byråkrati og beslutninger (Bureaucracy and Decisions). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (1989). Rediscovering institution.: the organizational basis of politics. New York: The Free Press.
Meier, K. (1973). Representative bureaucracy. An empirical analysis. American Political Science Review, 69, 526–542.
O’Flynn, J., Halligan, J. and Blackman, D. (2010). Working across boundaries: barriers, enablers, tensions and puzzles. Paper presented at the IRSPM Conference, Bern 7–9 April 2010.
O’Leary, V. S., & Ickovics, J. R. (1992). Cracking the glass ceiling. Overcoming isolation and alienation. In U. Sekaran & T. C. Fredericks (Eds.), Womanpower: managing in crises of demographic turbulence. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Olsen, J. P. (2004). Citizens, public administration and the search for theoretical foundation. PS Political Science & Politics, 37(January), 69–79.
Olsen, J. P. (2006). Maybe it is time to rediscover bureaucracy. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 16(1), 1–24.
Olsen, J. P. (2007). Europe in search of political order. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Olsen, J. P. (2009). Change and continuity: an institutional approach to institutions of democratic government. European Political Science Review, 1(1), 3–32.
Page, E. (2005). Joined-up government and the civil service. In V. Bogdanor (Ed.), Joined-up government. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pfeffer, J. (1983). Organizational demography. In L. L. Cummings & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior, 5 (pp. 299–357). Greenwich: JAI Press.
Pollitt, C. (2003). Joined-up government: a survey. Political Studies Review, 1, 34–49.
Pollitt, C., & Bouckaert, G. (2004). Public management reforms (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Simon, H. A. (1957). Administrative behavior. New York: Free Press.
Simon, H. A. (1973). The organization of complex systems. In H. H. Pattee (Ed.), Hierarchical theory. New York: Braziller.
Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2004). Multilevel analysis. An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modelling. Sage: London.
Steenbergen, M. R., & Jones, B. (2002). Modeling multilevel data structures. American Journal of Political Science, 46(1), 218–237.
Streeck, W., & Thelen, K. (Eds.). (2005). Beyond continuity. Institutional change in advanced political economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sullivan, H., & Skelcher, C. (2002). Working across boundaries. Collaboration in public services. Basingstoke: PalgraveMacmillan.
Thompson, J. D. (1967). Organization in action. New York: MacGrawHill.
Verhoest, K., Bouckaert, G., & Peters, B. G. (2007). Janus-faced reorganization: specialization and coordination in four OECD countries in the period 1980–2005. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 73(3), 325–348.
Wise, C. (2002). Organizing for homeland security. Public Administration Review, 62(2), 131–144.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Christensen, D.A., Christensen, T., Lægreid, P. et al. Cross-Border Coordination Activities in Central Government Administration—Combining Organizational Conditions and Individual Features. Public Organiz Rev 12, 367–382 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-012-0178-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-012-0178-7