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Public Agents’ Empowerment and Rule-Breaking Behaviors: Evidence from Panel Analysis of U.S. Federal Agencies

Author

Listed:
  • Hyesong Ha

    (Nazarbayev University in Nursultan)

  • Hyunkang Hur

    (School of Business at Indiana University Kokomo)

Abstract

Public agent (un)ethical behavior or ethical leadership has been a topic of interest as well as a hot debate in terms of “bounded ethicality” in complex organizations. This article extends the study of public agents’ (rule-breaking) unbureaucratic behaviors with three contributions:1) employee empowerment is used as an organizational factor affecting public agents’ rule-breaking behaviors; 2) an agency-level panel dataset comes from three different sources; 3) panel data analysis and structural equation model are applied. The results imply that policy makers and HR manager should recognize the possibility of negative unintended consequences of over-empowerment or excessive discretion practices in public organization.

Suggested Citation

  • Hyesong Ha & Hyunkang Hur, 2024. "Public Agents’ Empowerment and Rule-Breaking Behaviors: Evidence from Panel Analysis of U.S. Federal Agencies," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 407-431, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:porgrv:v:24:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s11115-023-00743-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11115-023-00743-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Brahmadev Panda & N. M. Leepsa, 2017. "Agency theory: Review of Theory and Evidence on Problems and Perspectives," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 10(1), pages 74-95, June.
    4. Casey J. Fleming, 2020. "Prosocial rule breaking at the street level: the roles of leaders, peers, and bureaucracy," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(8), pages 1191-1216, July.
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