Mapping the black box of intraministerial organization
- This article explores the structural diversity of intraministerial organization over time. Based on organization theory, it proposes a generic typology for intraministerial units applicable to any hierarchically structured government organization. We empirically investigate the critical case of the German federal bureaucracy. By classifying its subunits, we analyze the longitudinal development of structural differentiation and its correspondence to denominational variety. The data stem from a novel international dataset, covering all ministries between 1980 and 2015. We find that intraministerial structure differentiates over time, across and within ministries. A stable core of traditional Weberian structure is complemented by structurally innovative intraministerial units. We conclude that the German federal bureaucracy is more diverse than suggested in previous literature. Our findings indicate that less Weberian bureaucracies are at least as structurally diverse and that more reform-driven bureaucracies will have experienced atThis article explores the structural diversity of intraministerial organization over time. Based on organization theory, it proposes a generic typology for intraministerial units applicable to any hierarchically structured government organization. We empirically investigate the critical case of the German federal bureaucracy. By classifying its subunits, we analyze the longitudinal development of structural differentiation and its correspondence to denominational variety. The data stem from a novel international dataset, covering all ministries between 1980 and 2015. We find that intraministerial structure differentiates over time, across and within ministries. A stable core of traditional Weberian structure is complemented by structurally innovative intraministerial units. We conclude that the German federal bureaucracy is more diverse than suggested in previous literature. Our findings indicate that less Weberian bureaucracies are at least as structurally diverse and that more reform-driven bureaucracies will have experienced at least as many changes in structural diversity.…
| Author details: | Jana BertelsGND, Lena Schulze-GabrechtenORCiDGND |
|---|---|
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12486 |
| ISSN: | 0952-1895 |
| ISSN: | 1468-0491 |
| Title of parent work (English): | Governance : an international journal of policy and administration and institutions |
| Subtitle (English): | An analytical approach to explore structural diversity below the portfolio level |
| Publisher: | Wiley |
| Place of publishing: | Hoboken |
| Publication type: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Date of first publication: | 2020/02/27 |
| Publication year: | 2020 |
| Release date: | 2022/11/22 |
| Tag: | continuity; government; impact; public management; reforms; state |
| Volume: | 34 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Number of pages: | 19 |
| First page: | 171 |
| Last Page: | 189 |
| Funding institution: | Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftGerman Research Foundation (DFG) [JA; 387/6-1, FL 690/3-1] |
| Organizational units: | Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Wirtschaftswissenschaften / Fachgruppe Betriebswirtschaftslehre |
| DDC classification: | 3 Sozialwissenschaften / 33 Wirtschaft / 330 Wirtschaft |
| Peer review: | Referiert |
| Grantor: | Publikationsfonds der Universität Potsdam |
| Publishing method: | Open Access / Gold Open-Access |
| License (German): |  CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
| External remark: | Zweitveröffentlichung in der Schriftenreihe Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Reihe ; 165 |
