3 - Observing and Explaining Administrative Styles: From Concept to Empirical Analysis

Summary

This chapter outlines how these conceptual and theoretical considerations can be studied empirically and offers a detailed overview of the operationalization of IPAs’ administrative styles. We suggest an operationalization of administrative styles that relies on nine indicators loosely corresponding to a shortened policy cycle model. Moreover, we present our empirical understanding of the key explanatory factors that can account for the variation in administrative styles across different organizations and reflect upon our interview–based methodological approach. By using a two–step case selection strategy, we are able to demonstrate that IPAs do indeed develop very different administrative styles, which formal and structural organizational features alone cannot account for. We conclude the chapter by reflecting on the rationale for case selection and by presenting a brief overview of the IPAs under study.