How the Perception of Public Official on Organizational Culture Influences Procedural Justice in Environmental Policy Processes.

Meng Yuan

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.626210

Abstract

How does the organizational culture of local governments influence the type and extent of procedural justice in environmental policy processes? Using the culture theory developed by Mary Douglas and others, this research seeks to bring a new conception and new measures of organizational culture to the study of policy making by local governments. To contribute to the development of the conceptualization and measurement of procedural justice in the environmental policy processes of those governments, item response theory (IRT) graded response model (GRM) is used to show variations in difficulties and frequencies of adopting distinctive public participation strategies for improving procedural justice across local governments. In this study, original survey data is collected from Illinois municipalities and a finding is suggestive of cultural variables explaining the two dimensions of procedural justice, equal and authentic public participation, while other variables can, at best, explain only the equal public participation. Furthermore, as hypothesized, egalitarianism increases both equal and authentic public participation, individualism increases equal public participation, and fatalism decreases both.

Highlights

Public participation is central to the demands of procedural justice in environmental justice (EJ)
Public participation plays a central role in procedural justice (Young, 2002)
Procedural justice is distinguished from traditional public participation by its emphasis on equal and authentic participation

Summary

Introduction

Public participation is central to the demands of procedural justice in environmental justice (EJ). Procedural justice is a more demanding concept compared to public participation (Hamilton, 1993, Gould, 1996; Lake, 1996; Young, 2002; Schlosberg, 2007) due to its insistence on equal and authentic public participation. As observed by EJ scholars, the disproportional exposure to environmental toxins or inequitable distribution of environmental goods reflects a general lack of participation and the influence of people of color or Organizational Culture and Procedural Justice lower-income groups in environmental policy processes (Hamilton, 1993, Lake, 1996; Schlosberg, 2007). On the dimension of authentic public participation, this research asked to what extent local governments adopt three strategies of delegating the power to the public, including consulting with the public, co-governing with the public, and delegating direct power to the public in final decisions, in environmental policy processes

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