Ownership, empowerment, and productivity

Some empirical evidence on the causes and consequences of employee discretion

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11680287
AutoresLaura I Langbein, Laura Langbein (0000-0003-3899-1543, American University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2000
Volumen19
Número3
Páginas427-449
Fecha de publicación2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Policy Analysis and Management (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0276-8739 • E-ISSN: 1520-6688
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/1520-6688(200022)19:3<427::aid-pam4>3.0.co;2-2
OpenAlexW1975583837
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14
Referencias citadas26

This paper uses a sample of professional engineers employed in the public and private sector to investigate the effect of sector employment, indicators of task complexity, organization size, number of rules, importance, and attentiveness and agreement among various principals (customers or clients, peers, mid- and top-level management, and politicians) on both employee discretion and a subjective measure of employee productivity. The results show that disagreement among important and attentive proximate principals (mid-level managers) expands discretion, but disagreement among important and attentive distant principals (top executives and politicians) reduces discretion. Sector has no direct or indirect effect on discretion. When customers or clients and peers are important and attentive principals, discretion increases, and so does productivity. Monitoring by mid-level management has no effect on productivity. Because disagreement among distant principals is greater in the public sector, devolution of authority alone is unlikely to increase public sector productivity. © 2000 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management

Business · Devolution (biology · Discretion · Economic growth · Economics · Empirical evidence · Empowerment · Labour economics · Political science · Private sector · Productivity · Public economics · Public relations · Public sector · Sociology · Accounting and Organizational Management · Public Policy and Administration Research · Regulation and Compliance Studies