Understanding collaboration as response to red tape among Street-level bureaucrats: a curvilinear relationship

Akhil Gupta Red Tape: Bureaucracy, Structural Violence, and Poverty in India Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2012 368 pp ISBN 978 0 8223 5098 9 (pb) US$ 26.95 Matthew S Hull Government of Paper:...

Past research indicates that rules can prevent unbureaucratic behaviors among street-level bureaucrats (SLBs). In this research, I draw upon the citizen-agent narrative to propose that when formalized rules are perceived as red tape that negatively affects citizens, SLBs will be more likely to engage in prosocial rule breaking (PSRB) due to their sympathy for citizens in such a situation. I further propose that this effect will be more pronounced among SLBs who interact more frequently with citizens. Data from a sample of local government employees in Thailand were collected to test these hypotheses. Results from latent moderated mediation structural equation modeling analyses revealed that, while rule formalization has a direct negative effect on PSRB, it leads to an increase in PSRB via red tape perceptions and feelings of sympathy for citizens who suffer from red tape. Contact with citizens was also found to amplify the effect of rule formalization on red tape perceptions, such that rule formalization has a stronger indirect influence on PSRB among SLBs who have more frequent contact with citizens. These results point to the importance of maintaining the “optimal” level of rules in citizen-state interactions to ensure that SLBs can perform their public service work effectively.

This study examines the joint influences of work exhaustion, job demands (red tape, role conflict, work overload), and public service motivation on street-level bureaucrats’ turnover intention. Based on a survey of 4974 Korean street-level bureaucrats, the study examines the potential mediating role of work exhaustion and complex moderating role of public service motivation in determining street-level bureaucrats’ turnover intention. In line with previous research, we find that job demands have both direct and indirect associations with street-level bureaucrats’ turnover intention through work exhaustion. However, public service motivation was found to reduce the employees’ turnover intention in two different ways. First, public service motivation was found to have a direct negative association with turnover intention. In addition, it was also found to mitigate the positive associations between job demands and work exhaustion, and between job demands and turnover intention. Points for practitioners The findings of the current study provide several practical implications for public managers. First of all, it suggests that imbuing public sector values through formal and informal training is important. Second, it provides some clues for local government managers to reduce street-level bureaucrats’ work exhaustion and turnover intention. For example, the problem of work overload for street-level bureaucrats could be reduced by reassigning work responsibilities according to workload analyses for given jobs.

There is conflicting evidence about the pathways Street Level Bureaucrats’ (SLBs’) use to engage Innovative Work Behavior (IWB). This study uses Street Level Bureaucrat (SLB) and Conservation of Resources (COR) to examine the extent to which SLBs’ work engagement and/or burnout mediates the relationship between Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) and teamwork, and IWB. The methods comprised a sample of 259 healthcare SLBs (doctors, nurses, allied health) collected at two times, and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results show that the variance of PSC and teamwork explained a third of engagement, and engagement-burnout mediated the impact of PSC and teamwork on IWB, explaining over half of their IWBs. This study contributes new information about the two pathways that SLBs use to initiate IWBs. Contrary to COR theory, this means that both work engagement and burnout are pathways for SLBs using IWBs. First, as per COR theory, SLBs use IWBs when they have sufficient organizational and personal resources to enhance their engagement to use IWBs. Second, as per SLB theory, some SLBs use IWBs as a coping mechanism to reconcile their professional/personal values and beliefs with their finite level of psychological capacities (especially energy).

The present study examines the impact of ethical leadership on job satisfaction and work-related burnout (WRB) among street-level bureaucrats through the mediating roles of public service motivation (PSM), perceived organizational support (POS), and red tape by employing social exchange, conservation of resources, social learning, self-determination, and job demands-resources theories. Data from 712 street-level bureaucrats were collected in three waves in Turkey. The findings of structural equation modeling revealed that ethical leadership not only directly but also indirectly affects job satisfaction and WRB. Moreover, ethical leadership was effective in influencing employees’ perceptions of job demands and resources in public sector organizations. The results are consistent with theoretical predictions that PSM is a motivational construct influenced by leadership and job resources, which in turn affects employee outcomes. The results also indicated that job resources (i.e., perceived organizational support) played a more significant role than job demands (i.e., red tape) in determining the effects of ethical leadership on employee outcomes.

Assuming that red tape is inevitable in institutions, and drawing on positive organizational behavior, we compare the impact of individual psychological capital on the ability of street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) with different professional backgrounds to work within the confines of red tape. The two SLB professions investigated here are nurses and local government employees; and the work outcomes of interest to this study are well-being and engagement. The findings show that red tape has a different impact on each professional group but, encouragingly, they also indicate that psychological capital has a compensatory effect. Implications include nurses requiring more psychological resources than local government employees to counteract the negative impact of red tape. A practical implication for managers is that, if perception of red tape in organizations is set to increase or to stay constant, enhancing the psychological capital of professionals in SLB roles, through specific interventions, may be beneficial to professionals and organizations alike.

Conservation of resources (COR) theory is straightforward but often misunderstood or misapplied. Specifically, the theory states that when people's valued resources are threatened or lost, they experience stress. The "resource loss" is a crucial factor due to negative salience. This theory is quite controversial because the individuals' appraisal is assumed, rather than made explicit or measured. A lengthy exchange between proponents of COR and transactional theory is summarized within this chapter. Despite controversy, the challenge hindrance model evolved as a theoretical extension of COR. This model states that challenge stressors (i.e., those that allow an opportunity for mastery or growth) have curvilinear positive relationships with positive workplace outcomes, and that hindrance stressors (i.e., those that interfere with goal attainment with no opportunity for growth) have linear negative relationships with desired workplace outcomes.

Although there is consensus among scholars that red tape has negative consequences, there is a lack of synthesis on these negative effects. We conduct a meta‐analysis and meta‐regression of public administration evidence and ask: What is the impact of red tape on organizational performance and employee outcomes, and which conditions moderate this impact? Our meta‐analysis finds that red tape has a significant, negative, and small‐to‐medium impact on both organizational performance and employee outcomes. Meta‐regression shows that red tape imposed by the organization itself is more harmful than red tape imposed by external parties. Moreover, red tape's negative impact remains quite stable across sectors, administrative traditions, and research methods. In conclusion, an agenda for future public administration research on red tape is presented. We recommend that future research syntheses on red tape include research on concepts that bear a family resemblance (e.g., sludge, administrative burden) and also encourage analyses of differing discourses to identify common themes.

In a context where the amount of red tape in healthcare organizations continues to rise, head nurses’ job satisfaction is constantly under pressure. By building on the Job Demands-Resources model, we developed a theoretical model investigating the relationship between red tape and job satisfaction. By investigating the mediating role of discretionary room and the moderating role of autonomous motivation in this relationship, this study does not only aim to provide additional knowledge regarding the underlying mechanisms in this relationship, but also to increase our understanding of how this suffering at work can be mitigated. Our conditional process analyses (N = 277 head nurses) indicate that red tape undermines head nurses’ job satisfaction and that discretionary room acts as an underlying mechanism in this process. By revealing the mediating role of discretionary room, this study advances our understanding of the risks originating from red tape for leaders. Furthermore, our findings also indicate that autonomous motivation mitigates the negative relation between red tape and discretionary room and between red tape and job satisfaction. As autonomous motivation turns out to be an important protection mechanism against the negative consequences of red tape, organizations should put extra effort into stimulating the autonomous motivation of their leaders. When organizations make sure that their leaders’ job designs and work environments meet the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, leaders will become more autonomously motivated, which will buffer the negative impact of red tape.

This study advances theory by highlighting the interplay of stressors and coping mechanisms and provides actionable strategies to mitigate burnout and strengthens resilience in complex bureaucratic organisations. Drawing on the job demands-resources model, conservation of resources theory, and other theories, the research employs a sequential mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative data with qualitative insights. The model demonstrates substantial explanatory power, underscoring the complexity of stressor interactions and coping dynamics in regulating burnout. Role conflict emerged as the strongest burnout predictor, associated with significant depletion of emotional and cognitive resources. Procedural injustice intensified burnout through dual pathways – directly increasing strain and indirectly eroding coping capacities. Distributive injustice undermined trust and motivation, fostering disengagement among employees. Red tape, entrenched in hierarchical cultures, reinforced prevention-focused coping while suppressing promotion-focused coping, reflecting systemic rigidity. Prevention-focused coping was associated with reduced burnout in high-demand environments.

Although the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory is an influential theory of stress and human motivation, it has seen scant use in sports psychology. Nonetheless, as a broad psychological theory, COR theory can be useful in the theory-driven sport psychology practice. By focusing on the dynamic interplay between resource gain and loss, COR theory illuminates the processes that underlie effective coping and adaptation during athletes’ transitions. Its terminology can be translated into structured, pragmatic, and goal-oriented language that resonates with athletes undergoing transitions. This article aims to present the key concepts of COR theory, explore how it may be a suitable addition to the existing literature on athletes’ transitions, and demonstrate its relevance and applicability through a brief clinical example.

The formation of information security behavioural intention (ISBI) can be complex and dynamic in different contexts. This paper aims to examine and compare different users’ ISBI formalisation mechanisms when dealing with their personal affairs (non-work users) and organisational affairs (work users). Drawing on two principles of Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (i.e. resource loss principle, and resource gain principle), we developed two models to examine how situational support affects ISBI formation. The results of a study of 432 non-worker users and 261 work users indicate a curvilinear relationship between situational support and ISBI through subjective norms and risk perception for non-worker users, whilst a linear relationship via subjective norms is found for worker users. This is the first time that COR has been applied to explain the formation of ISBI. The findings broaden the research scope of individuals’ ISBI by revealing how situational support affects the formalisation mechanism for different users in cross-contexts. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings and the future study are discussed.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to provide insights into bootleg innovation by investigating whether perceived hindrance stressors play an important role in bootlegging and how different organizational ownership types (state-owned enterprises (SOEs) vs non-SOEs) affect this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe study samples comprised 3,967 employees from 674 knowledge-intensive companies in southern China. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsDrawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, the results show that hindrance stressors have a curvilinear (U-shaped) influence on bootleg innovation, and that the curve relationship between the hindrance stressors and bootlegging is more pronounced among employees in non-SOEs.Practical implicationsThe findings indicate that either a low or high level of hindrance stressors can activate a high level of bootlegging activities among employees. These results suggest that managers need to be vigilant in detecting the level of hindrance because different motivations predominate at different stressor levels.Originality/valueBased on the COR theory, the findings cast perceived hindrance stressors as an antecedent of bootlegging at the individual level. The inquiry into state ownership types further provides a comprehensive understanding of the non-linear relationship between hindrance stressors and bootlegging.

Based on the Threat‐to‐Self‐Esteem (TSE) model integrated with the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, we proposed an inverted U‐shaped curvilinear relationship between receiving instrumental social support and task performance, mediated by work engagement. Further, grounded on the TSE model, we proposed the provision of instrumental social support neutralises the curvilinear association between receiving instrumental social support and work engagement. We examined these hypotheses using two samples of South Korean employees. In Study 1, we collected three‐wave data (N = 302) from employees in a manufacturing company and found curvilinear associations between receiving instrumental social support and work outcomes (i.e. work engagement and task performance), supporting the Too‐Much‐of‐a‐Good‐Thing (TMGT) effects. However, we did not find support for the moderating (neutralising) effects. In Study 2, we replicated the model that was supported in Study 1 (curvilinear model), using a different sample and two‐wave daily diary method (N = 530, construction employees). Overall, based on the TSE model, the COR theory, and TMGT principles, in two settings and with different methods, we found support for curvilinear associations between receiving instrumental social support and work outcomes and an indirect curvilinear effect of receiving instrumental social support on task performance via work engagement.

Purpose Drawing upon the “too-much-of-a-good-thing (TMGT)” effect and conservation of resources (COR) theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediation mechanism between empowering leadership and employee job performance. Specifically, the authors propose a curvilinear relationship between empowering leadership and job performance, and also suggest that employee harmonious and obsessive work passions mediate the curvilinear relationship between empowering leadership and job performance. Further the moderation role of collectivism orientation (CO) in the relationship between empowering leadership and job performance is also examined. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaires are used to obtain survey data from 256 supervisor–subordinate dyads in three companies in the communication sector of Ghana. A follow-up interview was also conducted to enhance explanation of research findings. Hierarchical regression analysis is used to analyze the associations among the variables. Findings The results revealed that the significant inverted U-shaped relationship between empowering leadership and subordinate job performance is mediated by both harmonious and obsessive passion for work. A significant moderation effect of CO in the empowering leadership–job performance relationship could not be established. Originality/value This study adapts the “TMGT” effect and COR theory in the explanation of an integrated model including empowering leadership, job performance, employee passion for work, and CO in the Ghanaian context.