TY - JOUR

T1 - The interaction of multiple drivers of intra-organizational change in ministerial administrations

T2 - A study of three decades of structural reforms in the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture

AU - Lichtmannegger, Christina

AU - Tobias, Bach

PY - 2023/7

Y1 - 2023/7

N2 - Administrative reform policies cutting across several sectors are commonplace in the public sector. However, reform policies do not necessarily result in organizational change. This article examines intra-organizational change within the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture in a longitudinal case study covering a period of three decades, which allows us to study short-term and long term-effects of administrative reforms. Whereas existing research mainly uses single-factor explanations for inter- and intra-organizational change, this article emphasizes the interplay of various drivers of organizational change within government organizations. In analytical terms, we draw on the multiple streams framework to study intra-organizational decision-making which is embedded in government-wide administrative reform policies. We find that reform leads to intra-organizational change when a political entrepreneur is able to couple solutions and problems in a decision window, which may happen decades after the initial reform attempts, underscoring that short-term reform failure may turn into success in a long-term perspective.

AB - Administrative reform policies cutting across several sectors are commonplace in the public sector. However, reform policies do not necessarily result in organizational change. This article examines intra-organizational change within the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture in a longitudinal case study covering a period of three decades, which allows us to study short-term and long term-effects of administrative reforms. Whereas existing research mainly uses single-factor explanations for inter- and intra-organizational change, this article emphasizes the interplay of various drivers of organizational change within government organizations. In analytical terms, we draw on the multiple streams framework to study intra-organizational decision-making which is embedded in government-wide administrative reform policies. We find that reform leads to intra-organizational change when a political entrepreneur is able to couple solutions and problems in a decision window, which may happen decades after the initial reform attempts, underscoring that short-term reform failure may turn into success in a long-term perspective.

KW - Europeanization

KW - ministerial administration

KW - multiple streams approach

KW - reform implementation, organizational change

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139166617&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/0952076720904439

DO - 10.1177/0952076720904439

M3 - Article

VL - 38

SP - 287

EP - 308

JO - Public policy and administration

JF - Public policy and administration

SN - 0952-0767

IS - 3

ER -