The Theory of Pragmatic Governance PDF Download

Author: Joseph Hafer
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Languages : en
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Book Description
The changing relationship between government and society over the past thirty years including the rise of the hollow state has changed the nature of public administration (Frederickson, Smith, Larimer, & Licari, 2015, p. 245). In response, public administration research that focuses on theories and concepts related to governance and collaboration has flourished. However, governance scholars argue that further refinement of the current understanding of governance in public administration is needed, including the need for understanding the role of the traditional government agency in governance (Agranoff, 2017, Cigler, 2001); further theoretical specification of organizational dimensions and conditions for governance (Egeberg, Gornitzka, & Trondal, 2016); the need for the perspective of the individual involved in governance (Ford & Ihrke, 2018; OLeary & Vij, 2012); the need for process-oriented qualitative studies (Ansell & Torfing, 2016); and the need to understand how the normative ideal of collaboration in governance compares to the reality of day-to-day public service delivery (Miller-Stevens & Morris, 2016; Sancino & Jacklin-Jarvis, 2016).I sought to address these knowledge deficits in this dissertation by using classic grounded theory methodology to explore the prominent conditions and dimensions of the ordinary day-to-day governance practices of a traditional government agency. Classic grounded theory methodology is based largely on the writings of Barney Glaser, one of the co-founders of the grounded theory method (see Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The grounded theory method has been misrepresented in top-tier public administration journals, with no published study utilizing the entire classic grounded theory package (e.g., theoretical sampling, constant comparative analysis, memoing, theoretical sorting) since at least 1991.I used the entire classic grounded theory package to discover and theorize the latent patterns of behavior related to the prominent conditions and dimensions of governance practices of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry. My primary data collection method was qualitative interviewing that I conducted with Bureau district and assistant district managers from state forest districts across Pennsylvania. I supplemented the interview data with secondary data in the form of bureau documents, reports, and public-facing websites. Through theoretical sampling and constant comparative analysis, multiple patterns of behavior that represented what administrators were actually doing (i.e., governance practices) to resolve the main concern the ability of the Bureau employees to manage Pennsylvania forest lands for long-term sustainability emerged from the data. I conceptualized these patterns as the single core category of Mission-driven Management and the four sub-core categories of Balancing, Advocating Value, Adapting to Uncertainty, and Prudent Collaboration, which I theoretically integrated using the system-parts theoretical code (i.e., the core category is the system and sub-core categories are the parts). Two related categories in the form of organizational dynamics Organizational Capacity and Organizational Discretion also emerged from the data, which I theoretically integrated as contextual conditions that impact the system. During theory development I noticed the relevance of pragmatist philosophy to the emerging theory (e.g., anti-dualism, problem-focused action), so I used pragmatism as a way to conceptualize the overarching theoretical integration. Thus, I termed the substantive grounded theory I developed the Theory of Pragmatic Governance. The theory explains governance from the perspective of individuals in a traditional government agency by conceptualizing the primary ordinary practices that comprise governing. It also predicts the nature of the relationships between those practices.The Theory of Pragmatic Governance is an original contribution to the public administration governance literature because it was developed using classic grounded theory methodology and is based in the empirical reality of the ordinary day-to-day practices of a traditional government agency (Frederickson et al., 2015); it highlights organizational conditions that impact governance (Egeberg et al., 2016); and explains governance via an individual-level perspective of those in a traditional government agency (Ford & Ihrke, 2018; OLeary & Vij, 2012).