Conference Agenda

Background

Among the paths to foster inclusion and equal treatment, especially for disadvantaged groups, there is the creation of Hybrid Organisations, in a proper co-production scheme, among public and Third Sector Organisations (TSO). Indeed, since the new millennium, there have been growing Public Service Organisations (PSOs) operating in a public private scheme (Osborne, 2004), thus leading to an inevitable expansion of hybridity (Pestoff, 2014). Concurrently, hybridity has become a central characteristic of accountability in welfare state governance, thus leading to the need of studying hybrid accountability arrangements (Benish & Mattei, 2020).

Being in this streamline, our work is focused on a particular aspect, that is the trade-off between autonomy for innovation and control for public interest. We analyse the Italian case which saw, in the last years, a huge reform of the Third Sector. Particularly we investigate possible gaps between policymakers’ ideas and design and the resultants which are affecting TSOs daily activities, especially in co-production schemes.

Design/methodology

Being framed within the Agency Theory (Eisenhardt, 1989) this study utilises a mixed method approach (Schoonenboom & Johnson, 2017). The first step is represented by a desk research upon laws, rules, regulations, and commentaries about the reform and its implementation. In the second step we run semi-structured interviews. Firstly, with the managers of 2 Organisations, devoted by law, to help local TSOs in reforming themselves to be compliant with the new rules. We then interviewed the administrative personnel of 3 Advocacy Organisations dealing with civil rights, and 3 dealing with the inclusion of disadvantaged people (migrants, disabled). We analysed them through a content analysis (Bauer & Gaskell, 2000) guided by theoretically-driven coding (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

Results/findings

Although the study has the great limit of being based on a small number of analyses of one country, its findings show several issues within the new designed governance of inclusive and equality initiatives by Hybrid Organisations. They show huge gaps between the needs and expectations which requested these reforms and their actual implementation. Indeed TSOs remark – instead of a simplification – an increase of both costs and bureaucratic compliances, thus being unsatisfied and perceiving the reform as a top-down one detached from their daily lives. The evident issue regarded the mismatch between a public control focused on the outputs and accountability rules and a TSOs’ vision focused on the outcomes (inclusion, equality, rights). In the conclusive part of the work, we draw some reflections upon the recurring of similar problems in dealing with these reforms.

The purpose of this study is to analyze how the career attitude of public employees affects the relationship between government diversity management and organizational performance. The need for this study stems from the lack of public administration studies that apply the kaleidoscope career model to the Korean public sector. To examine the relationships of each variable, this paper examines information and decision-making theory to explain the relationship between representative bureaucracy and organizational performance, and values-attitudes-behavior theory and self-determination theory to explain the relationship between the kaleidoscope career attitude and organizational performance. The research methodology includes data collection through surveys and analysis according to the hierarchical linear model using STATA. The subjects of the study are central government officials. As a result, diversity management doesn’t have a positive relationship with organizational performance. Next, civil servants’ kaleidoscope career attitudes have a positive relationship with organizational performance. Especially, the balance and challenge are positively related to organizational performance. Lastly, civil servants’ career attitudes moderate the relationship between diversity management and organizational performance, especially thanks to the authenticity. These results offer both theoretical insights into kaleidoscope career models in public service and practical implications for diversity management.

This study investigates how early-career civil servants in the U.S. federal government perceive equity in advancement opportunities and how these perceptions are influenced by the views of other demographic groups within their organizations. Drawing on social categorization theory, intergroup threat theory, and the concept of intersectionality, we examine how individuals’ perceptions of fair and impartial treatment regarding advancement are shaped by the perceived equity reported by other demographic groups. Using a multilevel analysis of four subgroups—white men, white women, non-white men, and non-white women—we find that early-career civil servants perceive lower equity in their own advancement opportunities when a socially distant group reports higher perceived equity, suggesting that such groups may be seen as competitive threats, consistent with zero-sum beliefs. However, intersectionality adds nuance to this pattern: certain outgroups with overlapping identities in either race or gender may instead be perceived as allies, fostering a sense of mutual support rather than competition. These findings provide important insights into how group dynamics and intersectional identities shape perceptions of fairness and inclusion, offering significant implications for policymakers

Despite substantial legislative and policy efforts to promote equality and prevent discrimination, various social groups in Lithuania still encounter significant barriers when accessing public services. Based on qualitative research conducted within Klaipėda municipality, this study explores how social service providers balance their empathy towards clients with compliance to municipal policy standards. The analysis draws on the Street-Level Bureaucracy theory to illuminate how professional discretion shapes the implementation of equality policies.

Empirical data, collected through semi-structured interviews with social workers, youth workers, and case managers, provide critical insights into practitioners’ perceptions of direct and indirect discrimination. The research highlights organisational pressures, limited resources, and intricate procedural demands as contributing factors to potentially discriminatory practices, which often occur unintentionally. Findings emphasise the crucial role of institutional culture and professional ethics in mitigating discrimination. Nonetheless, respondents indicated that formal equality guidelines and non-discrimination policies often have limited practical relevance, are perceived as overly bureaucratic and disconnected from everyday work.

The empirical analysis, based on 12 individual interviews and one focus group discussion, demonstrates that while Klaipėda's municipal policies are strategically committed to equality and accessibility, they encounter practical challenges, including the ambiguous integration of equality principles concerning sexual orientation. The study concludes by recommending the embedding of equality standards within organisational culture and reinforcing professional discretion as essential measures to effectively align policy objectives with frontline practices.

This study highlights how the principles of equal opportunities often remain formal and insufficiently embedded in the actual service delivery of Lithuanian municipalities. Its findings may be valuable for municipalities and researchers in other countries seeking to understand how structural and institutional factors influence the effectiveness of inclusion and diversity policies in local governance.

References

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