IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/reggov/v16y2022i4p1005-1021.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Alone in the campaign: Distrust in regulators and the coping of front‐line workers

Author

Listed:
  • Maayan Davidovitz
  • Nissim Cohen

Abstract

Trust is the “glue” connecting state and society and particularly relevant to how front‐line workers, who are the face of public administration vis‐à‐vis citizens, implement policy. Therefore, it is important to examine how front‐line workers' absence of trust in regulators influences the ways they cope with their clients. Our study investigates this question empirically through interviews and focus groups with 80 Israeli social service providers. Our results show that front‐line workers' distrust in regulators is a product of four factors: perceived lack of protection, clash of values, politicization in implementation processes, and regulators' “disconnection” from the field. It leads them to adopt two coping strategies: acts of self‐protection and deviation from formal policy. A further derivative is their turnover intention.

Suggested Citation

  • Maayan Davidovitz & Nissim Cohen, 2022. "Alone in the campaign: Distrust in regulators and the coping of front‐line workers," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), pages 1005-1021, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:16:y:2022:i:4:p:1005-1021
    DOI: 10.1111/rego.12396
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12396
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/rego.12396?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Frédérique Six, 2013. "Trust in Regulatory Relations," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(2), pages 163-185, February.
    2. Frédérique Six & Koen Verhoest, 2017. "An agenda for further research into the role of trust in regulatory regimes," Chapters, in: Frédérique Six & Koen Verhoest (ed.), Trust in Regulatory Regimes, chapter 9, pages 224-242, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. David Levi-Faur & Jacint Jordana, 2005. "Globalizing Regulatory Capitalism," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 598(1), pages 6-9, March.
    4. Nissim Cohen, 2016. "Forgoing New Public Management and Adopting Post‐New Public Management Principles: The On‐Going Civil Service Reform in Israel," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(1), pages 20-34, February.
    5. Christian Bjørnskov & Gert Svendsen, 2013. "Does social trust determine the size of the welfare state? Evidence using historical identification," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 269-286, October.
    6. Julien Etienne, 2013. "Ambiguity and relational signals in regulator–regulatee relationships," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(1), pages 30-47, March.
    7. Jacint Jordana, 2005. "Book Review: Globalizing Regulatory Capitalism," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 598(1), pages 184-190, March.
    8. Koop, Christel & Lodge, Martin, 2017. "What is regulation? An interdisciplinary concept analysis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 62135, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Kurt T. Dirks & Donald L. Ferrin, 2001. "The Role of Trust in Organizational Settings," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(4), pages 450-467, August.
    10. Lars Tummers & Victor Bekkers & Bram Steijn, 2009. "Policy Alienation of Public Professionals," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(5), pages 685-706, September.
    11. Avishai Benish & Dana Halevy & Shimon Spiro, 2018. "Regulating social welfare services: Between compliance and learning," International Journal of Social Welfare, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(3), pages 226-235, July.
    12. Jason A. Grissom & Lael R. Keiser, 2011. "A supervisor like me: Race, representation, and the satisfaction and turnover decisions of public sector employees," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(3), pages 557-580, June.
    13. Lars Tummers & Brenda Vermeeren & Bram Steijn & Victor Bekkers, 2012. "Public Professionals and Policy implementation," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(8), pages 1041-1059, January.
    14. Noortje de Boer, 2019. "Street-level Enforcement Style: A Multidimensional Measurement Instrument," International Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(5), pages 380-391, April.
    15. Nadine Raaphorst, 2018. "How to prove, how to interpret and what to do? Uncertainty experiences of street-level tax officials," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(4), pages 485-502, April.
    16. Lars Tummers & Victor Bekkers, 2014. "Policy Implementation, Street-level Bureaucracy, and the Importance of Discretion," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 527-547, May.
    17. Christel Koop & Martin Lodge, 2017. "What is regulation? An interdisciplinary concept analysis," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1), pages 95-108, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sheikh Raheel Manzoor & Atif Ullah & Rezwan Ullah & Afraseyab Khattak & Heesup Han & Sunghoon Yoo, 2023. "Micro CSR intervention towards employee behavioral and attitudinal outcomes: a parallel mediation model," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daniel Etse & Adela McMurray & Nuttawuth Muenjohn, 2022. "The Effect of Regulation on Sustainable Procurement: Organisational Leadership and Culture as Mediators," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(2), pages 305-325, May.
    2. Alena V. Pivavarava & Christel Koop, 2023. "The adoption of digital practices by economic regulators: mapping digital pathways for consumer e-participation," Economics Series Working Papers 1013, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    3. Thomas Rixen & Brigitte Unger, 2022. "Taxation: A Regulatory Multilevel Governance Perspective," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(3), pages 621-633, July.
    4. Norin Arshed & Colin Mason & Sara Carter, 2016. "Exploring the disconnect in policy implementation: A case of enterprise policy in England," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(8), pages 1582-1611, December.
    5. Steven Samford, 2015. "Innovation and public space: The developmental possibilities of regulation in the global south," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 9(3), pages 294-308, September.
    6. Işık D. Özel & Aslı Unan, 2021. "Decoupling trends: Drivers of agency independence in telecommunications: An analysis of high and middle‐income countries," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 32-62, January.
    7. Jan Boon & Heidi H. Salomonsen & Koen Verhoest, 2021. "A reputation for what, to whom, and in which task environment: A commentary," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(2), pages 428-441, April.
    8. Shalini Srivastava & Poornima Madan, 2016. "Understanding the Roles of Organizational Identification, Trust and Corporate Ethical Values in Employee Engagement–Organizational Citizenship Behaviour Relationship: A Study on Indian Managers," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 41(4), pages 314-330, November.
    9. S. Hansen & Bradley Alge & Michael Brown & Christine Jackson & Benjamin Dunford, 2013. "Ethical Leadership: Assessing the Value of a Multifoci Social Exchange Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 435-449, July.
    10. Judit Oláh & Attila Bai & György Karmazin & Péter Balogh & József Popp, 2017. "The Role Played by Trust and Its Effect on the Competiveness of Logistics Service Providers in Hungary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-22, December.
    11. Giles Hirst & Fred Walumbwa & Samuel Aryee & Ivan Butarbutar & Chin Jeffery Hui Chen, 2016. "A Multi-level Investigation of Authentic Leadership as an Antecedent of Helping Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 485-499, December.
    12. Elert, Niklas & Stam, Erik & Stenkula, Mikael, 2019. "Intrapreneurship and Trust," Working Paper Series 1280, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    13. Oleh Pasko, 2018. "Theories of Regulation in the Context of Modern Practice of Accounting Regulation," Oblik i finansi, Institute of Accounting and Finance, issue 2, pages 37-46, June.
    14. Georg Kanitsar, 2022. "The Inequality-Trust Nexus Revisited: At What Level of Aggregation Does Income Inequality Matter for Social Trust?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 171-195, August.
    15. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc & Marc Sangnier, 2016. "Trust and the Welfare State: the Twin Peaks Curve," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(593), pages 861-883, June.
    16. Justyna Łapińska & Iwona Escher & Joanna Górka & Agata Sudolska & Paweł Brzustewicz, 2021. "Employees’ Trust in Artificial Intelligence in Companies: The Case of Energy and Chemical Industries in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-20, April.
    17. Hutzschenreuter, Thomas & Horstkotte, Julian, 2013. "Performance effects of international expansion processes: The moderating role of top management team experiences," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 259-277.
    18. Steven Bednar & Dora Gicheva, 2019. "Workplace Support and Diversity in the Market for Public School Teachers," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 14(2), pages 272-297, Spring.
    19. Daniel Kangogo & Domenico Dentoni & Jos Bijman, 2020. "Determinants of Farm Resilience to Climate Change: The Role of Farmer Entrepreneurship and Value Chain Collaborations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-15, January.
    20. Kähkönen, T. & Blomqvist, K. & Gillespie, N. & Vanhala, M., 2021. "Employee trust repair: A systematic review of 20 years of empirical research and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 98-109.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:16:y:2022:i:4:p:1005-1021. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1748-5991 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.