A State-Level Examination of Bureaucratic Policymaking

Abstract

Bureaucrats have considerable formal policymaking authority. Yet policymaking discussions often overlook the role that bureaucrats play in the policy process. Current theories suggest that bureaucratic policymaking outputs are shaped largely by political signals sent by elected officials. While these external influences are crucial, current theories understate the role of internal organizational dynamics. This study builds on the bureaucratic response and organizational attention literatures to differentiate internally organized attention from externally organized attention in public agencies. It then conceptualizes two ways that public managers can internally organize agency attention to influence formal bureaucratic policymaking in the context of contracting and procurement. This study adds to the public management literature by showing how internal managerial strategies and activities can influence bureaucratic outputs.