Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Political Orientation and Policy Involvement of City Managers: An Empirical Study of the Value-Activity Relationship

  • Published:
Public Organization Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Research shows that city managers have adopted a political orientation toward their roles in an effort to increase their contributions to democratic governance. This paper asks the research question, does political orientation with its focus on collaboration, democratic principles, and representation impact political responsiveness and political neutrality? This study examines the relationship between these values, by specifying and testing four theoretical models of increasing complexity. Using survey data collected from a nationally representative sample of U.S. city managers, this study finds that politically orientated managers are more likely to get involved in the policy process. However, the impact of policy involvement on political responsiveness and political neutrality varies depending on the type of policy involvement. The findings of this research contribute to the literature on politics-administration relationship.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agranoff, R. (2006). Inside collaborative networks: Ten lessons for public managers. Public Administration Review, 66(s1), 56–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ammons, D. N., & Newell, C. (1988). City managers don’t make policy: A lie; let’s face it. National Civic Review, 77(2), 124–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benavides, A. D. (2006). Hispanic city managers in Texas: A small group of professional administrators. State and Local Government Review, 38(2), 112–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2008). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Box, R. C. (1992). The administrator as trustee of the public interest: Normative ideals and daily practice. Administration & Society, 24(3), 323–345.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Box, R. C., Marshall, G. S., Reed, B. J., & Reed, C. M. (2001). New public management and substantive democracy. Public Administration Review, 61(5), 608–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braun, C. (2013). The driving forces of stability: Exploring the nature of long-term bureaucracy-interest group interactions. Administration & Society, 45(7), 809–836.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, T. L. (2004). Big questions in administrative ethics: A need for focused, collaborative effort. Public Administration Review, 64(4), 395–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, T. L., Bryer, T. A., & Meek, J. W. (2006). Citizen-centered collaborative management. Public Administration Review, 66, 76–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, T. L., & Gullick, L. (1984). Citizenship and professionalism in public administration. Public Administration Review, 44, 143–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demir, T. (2008). Is political public administration a threat to legislative supremacy? International Journal of Public Administration, 31, 574–591.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Demir, T. (2009). The complementarity view: Exploring a continuum in political-administrative relations. Public Administration Review, 69(5), 876–888.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demir, T. (2011a). Professionalism, responsiveness, and representation: What do they mean for city managers? International Journal of Public Administration, 34(3), 151–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demir, T. (2011b). Interaction frequency and quality as two dimensions of complementarity: An empirical examination of some contingency variables. Public Organization Review, 11(3), 265–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demir, T., & Nank, R. (2012). Interaction quality in political administrative relations in the United States: Testing a multi-dimensional model. International Journal of Public Administration, 35, 329–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demir, T., & Nyhan, R. C. (2008). The politics-administration dichotomy: An empirical search for correspondence between theory and practice. Public Administration Review, 68(1), 81–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demir, T., & Reddick, C. G. (2012). Understanding shared roles in policy and administration: An empirical study of council-manager relations. Public Administration Review, 72(4), 526–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denhardt, J., & Denhardt, R. (2003). The new public service: Serving, not steering. Armonk: M. E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, C. J., & Miller, H. T. (1995). Postmodern public administration: Toward discourse. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frederickson, G. H. (1996). The spirit of public administration. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golembiewski, R. T., & Gabris, G. T. (1994). Today’s city managers: A legacy of success-becoming-failure. Public Administration Review, 54(6), 525–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hassett, W. L., & Watson, D. J. (2002). Long-serving city managers: Practical application of the academic literature. Public Administration Review, 62(5), 622–629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ICMA (2009). ICMA 2009 state of the profession survey. Retrieved March 10, 2012 from http://icma.org/en/icma/knowledge_network/documents/kn/Document/100267/ICMA_2009_State_of_the_Profession_Survey.

  • Jacobsen, D. I. (2006). The relationship between politics and administration: The importance of contingency factors, formal structure, demography, and time. Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions, 19(2), 303–323.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, D. (2000). Structural equation modeling: Foundations and extensions. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kernaghan, K. (2003). Integrating values into public service: The values statement as centerpiece. Public Administration Review, 63(6), 711–719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirlin, J. J. (1997). The big questions of public administration in a democracy. Public Administration Review, 56(5), 416–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M. (2001). Looking at the politics –administration dichotomy from the other direction: Participant observation by a state senator. International Journal of Public Administration, 24(4), 363–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, E. B. (1982). Role behavior of U.S. city managers: Development and testing of a multidimensional typology. International Journal of Public Administration, 4(2), 135–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons, S. T., Duxbury, L. E., & Higgins, C. A. (2006). A comparison of the values and commitment of private sector, public sector, and parapublic sector employees. Public Administration Review, 66(4), 605–618.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, H. T. (1993). Everyday politics in public administration. American Review of Public Administration, 23, 99–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, H. T., & Demir, T. (2007). Policy communities. In F. Fischer, G. Miller, & M. Sidney (Eds.), Handbook of public policy analysis: Theory, politics, and methods (pp. 137–149). London: Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montjoy, R. S., & Watson, D. J. (1995). A case for reinterpreted dichotomy of politics and administration as a professional standard in council-manager government. Public Administration Review, 55(3), 231–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, M. H. (1995). Creating public value: Strategic management in government. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosher, F. C. (1982). Democracy and the public service. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musso, J., Weare, C., Bryer, T., & Cooper, T. L. (2011). Toward “strong democracy” in global cities? Social capital building, theory-driven reform, and the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council experience. Public Administration Review, 71(1), 102–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nabatchi, T. (2010). Addressing the citizenship and democratic deficits: The potential of deliberative democracy for public administration. American Review of Public Administration, 40(4), 376–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nalbandian, J. (1994). Reflections of a “pracademic” on the logic of politics and administration. Public Administration Review, 54(6), 531–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nalbandian, J. (1999). Facilitating community, enabling democracy: New roles for local government managers. Public Administration Review, 59(3), 187–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nalbandian, J. (2001). The city manager as political leader. Public Management, 83(3), 7–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nalbandian, J., O’Neill, R., Wilkes, M. J., & Kaufman, A. (2013). Contemporary challenges in local government: Evolving roles and responsibilities, structures, and processes. Public Administration Review, 73(4), 567–574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, H. M., & Perry, J. L. (2012). The transformation of governance: Who are the new public servants and what difference does it make for democratic governance. American Review of Public Administration, 43(1), 26–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pynes, J. E., & Spina, S. (2009). Council-manager conflict and cooperation in times of fiscal stress. State and Local Government Review, 41(3), 208–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rohr, J. A. (1986). To run a constitution: Legitimacy of the administrative state. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossmann, D., & Shanahan, E. A. (2012). Defining and achieving normative democratic values in participatory budgeting processes. Public Administration Review, 72(1), 56–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, W. H., & Posner, B. Z. (1986). Values and expectations of federal service executives. Public Administration Review, 46(5), 447–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, M., & Teske, P. (1992). Toward a theory of political entrepreneur: Evidence from local government. American Political Science Review, 86(3), 737–747.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spicer, M. W., & Terry, L. D. (1993). Legitimacy, history, and logic: Public administration and constitution. Public Administration Review, 53(3), 239–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stillman, R. (1991). A preface to public administration: A search for themes and direction. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Svara, J. H. (1990). Official leadership in the city. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Svara, J. H. (1997). Professional administration (and representative governance). In J. J. Gargan (Ed.), Handbook of local government administration (pp. 387–402). New York: Marcel Dekker.

    Google Scholar 

  • Svara, J. H. (1999). Complementarity of politics and administration as a legitimate alternative to the dichotomy model. Administration & Society, 30(6), 676–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svara, J. H. (2006). The search for meaning in political-administrative relations in local government. International Journal of Public Administration, 29(12), 1065–1090.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teske, P., & Schneider, M. (1994). The bureaucratic entrepreneur: The case of city managers. Public Administration Review, 54(4), 331–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waldo, D. (1981). The enterprise of public administration. Novato: Chandler & Sharp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldo, D. (1984). The administrative state: A study of the political theory of American public administration. New York: Holmes & Meier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, R. P. (1997). Politics and public administration: A political profile of local bureaucrats in Alabama. Administration & Society, 29(2), 189–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeland, C. (2000). City management in the 1990’s: Responsibilities, roles and practices. Administration & Society, 32(3), 255–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yackee, J. W., & Yackee, S. W. (2006). A bias towards business? Assessing interest group influence on the U.S. bureaucracy. Journal of Politics, 68(1), 128–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y., & Feiock, R. J. (2010). City managers’ policy leadership in council-manager cities. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 20(2), 461–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Public Policy, Department of Public Administration, University of Texas at San Antonio, 501 W. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd., San Antonio, TX, 78207, USA

    Tansu Demir & Christopher G. Reddick

Authors
  1. Tansu Demir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christopher G. Reddick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tansu Demir.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Demir, T., Reddick, C.G. Political Orientation and Policy Involvement of City Managers: An Empirical Study of the Value-Activity Relationship. Public Organiz Rev 15, 581–598 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-014-0290-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-014-0290-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation