Abstract
This paper provides an analysis of the relationships existing between citizen participation and satisfaction levels within the framework of Spanish local administrations, additionally paying attention to the links between organisational size and the said participation and satisfaction levels. The results of a survey questionnaire answered by 388 Human Resources (HR) managers from the largest Spanish Town Halls were examined for these purposes. A claim is made both to increase the degree of citizen participation in public decision-making and to ensure the delivery of efficient and effective public services that can really meet citizens’ needs in Spanish town Halls.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Satisfaction degree
No.
%
Below the mean
188
48.5
Above the mean
200
51.5
Total
388
100.0
References
Aberbach, J., & Christensen, T. (2005). Citizens and Consumers. Public Management Review, 7(2), 225–246.
Agrawal, A., & Gupta, K. (2005). Decentralization and participation: the governance of common pool resources in Nepal’s Terai. World Development, 33(7), 1101–1114.
Bouckaert, G., & Van de Walle, S. (2003). Comparing measures of citizen trust and user satisfaction as indicators of ‘good governance’: difficulties in linking trust and satisfaction indicators. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 69(3), 329–343.
Brainard, L. A., & McNutt, J. G. (2010). Virtual government-citizen relations: informational, transactional or collaborative? Administration & Society, 42(7), 836–858.
Christensen, T., & Lægreid, P. (2002). New public management: puzzles of democracy and the influence of citizens. Journal of Political Philosophy, 10(3), 267–295.
Colino, C. & Del Pino, E. (2003). “Un fantasma recorre Europa: Renovación democrática mediante iniciativas de Promoción Participativa en los Gobiernos Locales”. Segundas Jornadas de Sociología Política. UNED. Madrid 11–12 Dic. Internet Document: https://n-1.cc/file/download/362481.
Cotterill, S. & King, S. (2007). “Public Sector Partnerships to Deliver Local E-Government: A Social Network Study”. Electronic Government, 6th International Conference, EGOV 2007, Regensburg, Germany, September 3–7, 2007. Proceedings. 4656, 240–251.
DeHoog, R. H., Lowery, D., & Lyons, W. E. (1990). Citizen satisfaction with local governance: a test of individual, jurisdictional, and city-specific explanations. The Journal of Politics, 52(3), 807–837.
Haque, M. S. (1999). Relationship between citizenship and public Administration: a reconfiguration. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 65(3), 309–325.
Haque, M. S. (2001). The diminishing publicness of public service under the current mode of governance. Public Administration Review, 61(1), 65–82.
Höppner, C., Frick, J., & Buchecker, M. (2008). What drives People’s willingness to discuss local landscape development? Landscape Research, 33(5), 605–622.
King, S., & Cotterill, S. (2007). Transformational government? The role of information technology in delivering citizen-centric local public services. Local Government Studies, 33(3), 333–354.
Kluvers, R., & Pillay, S. (2009). Participation in the budgetary process in local government. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 68(2), 220–230.
Lowndes, V., Pratchett, L., & Stoker, G. (2001a). Trends in public participation: Part 1 – Local government perspectives. Public Administration, 79(1), 205–222.
Lowndes, V., Pratchett, L., & Stoker, G. (2001b). Trends in public participation: Part 2 – Citizens’ perspectives. Public Administration, 79(2), 445–455.
Lowndes, V., Pratchett, L., & Stoker, G. (2006). Local political participation: the impact of rules-in-use. Public Administration, 84(3), 539–561.
Morgeson, F. V., & Petrescu, C. (2011). Do they all perform alike? An examination of perceived performance, citizen satisfaction and trust with US Federal Agencies. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 77(3), 451–479.
Newman, J., Barnes, M., Sullivan, H., & Knops, A. (2004). Public participation and collaborative governance. Journal of Social Policy, 33(2), 203–223.
Ra, H.-M., & Joo, J. (2005). Evaluating customer-centered reforms in Korean local governments: possibilities and limitations of reform measures for civil application. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 71(3), 425–444.
Robertson, R., & Ball, R. (2002). Innovation and improvement in the delivery of public services: the use of quality management within local government in Canada. Public Organisation Review: a Global Journal, 2(4), 387–405.
Saxena, K. B. C. (2005). Towards excellence in e-governance. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 18(6), 2005.
Teicher, J., Hughes, O., & Dow, N. (2002). E-government: a new route to public sector quality. Managing Service Quality, 12(6), 384–393.
Vigoda, E. (2002). From responsiveness to collaboration: governance, citizens, and the next generation of public administration. Public Administration Review, 62(5), 527–540.
Welch, E. W., Hinnant, C. C., & Moon, M. J. (2004). Linking citizen satisfaction with E-government and trust in government. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 15(3), 371–391.
Acknowledgments
This article was written thanks to the funding provided by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, Development and Innovation of the University of Alicante (GRE- 09–08) and the Regional Department of Education of the Generalitat Valenciana [Valencian Regional Government] (GV72011/029).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gonzalez, R., Gasco, J. & Llopis, J. Relationships with Citizens in Public Management: A Study at the Largest Spanish Town Halls. Public Organiz Rev 14, 173–186 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-012-0213-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-012-0213-8