Sjors Overman
Biographic Data
| ID | 4128945 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sjors Overman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sjors |
| FAMILY NAME | Overman |
| SIGNATURE | OVERMAN S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Utrecht University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0620-0682 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 66 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Improving non-executive directors’ judgement quality through information provision: A mixed-method study
This study examines how information provision influences judgement quality of non-executive directors in the semipublic sector. Based on insights from behavioural science, hypotheses were developed and tested using a mixed-methods design, combining an experiment (N = 101) and group interviews (N = 34). The experiment with non-executive directors provides evidence for a causal relationship between information diversity and integrative complexity i…
Coping with occupational stereotypes: An emotional lens on police officers’ experiences
How do public employees cope with negative occupational stereotypes? Limited research examines the psychological processes of how these perceptions shape their behaviour. This study examines how public employees cope with occupational stereotyping and discrimination from the perspective of police officers using an emotion framework. Drawing on 98 hours of observations and 14 in-depth interviews with officers in the Netherlands and the U.S. we fin…
From performance to morality: How politicians frame bureaucracy, its organizations, and public sector employees
Politicians frequently voice criticisms vis‐à‐vis bureaucracy, its organizations, and its employees. Previous studies point at the negative impact of this “bureaucratic bashing” on public sector morale, recruitment, retention, and citizen perceptions. Yet, systematic evidence on bashing remains sparse, with even less known about its counterpart: bureaucratic praising. This article aims to fill this gap by conceptualizing both phenomena as forms o…
Public sector accountability styles in Europe comparing accountability and control of agencies in the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the UK
This paper develops and applies the concept of accountability styles for analyzing and comparing accountability practices in different countries. This is relevant as there is considerable scholarship on public sector accountability but only very few comparative studies. Extant studies have shown that national styles of accountability are both marked by convergence as well as the resilience of national differences. The concept of accountability st…
Enacting Accountability Under Populist Pressures: Theorizing the Relationship Between Anti-Elite Rhetoric and Public Accountability
While populism challenges the pluralism and technocratic expertise on which public bureaucracies are based, extant scholarship has overlooked its effects on accountability processes. In particular, it neglects the impact of anti-elite rhetoric, characterized by what can be regarded as “emotionalized blame attribution,” on the thinking and behavior of accountability actors. Responding to this gap, this article examines the impact of this distincti…
A validated measurement for felt relational accountability in the public sector: Gauging the account holder’s legitimacy and expertise
The effectiveness of formal public sector accountability mechanisms is largely predicated on the individual perception of accountability. In particular, the individual’s experienced relationship to account holders is key in understanding the effects of formal accountability mechanisms. This article develops a measurement instrument for felt relational accountability in public administration. We measure perceived legitimacy and expertise of the ac…
Aligning accountability arrangements for ambiguous goals: The case of museums
In a simple model of accountability, the core of the interaction consists of the supply and demand of performance information. Alignment of information supply and demand is crucial for an effective accountability relationship, but alignment is difficult in a situation with ambiguous or contested goals. This study analyzes the alignment between local governments and museums. The study uses a mixed-methods approach, including survey data, formal do…
Conflictual Accountability: Behavioral Responses to Conflictual Accountability of Agencies
In contemporary public governance, leaders of public organizations are faced with multiple, and oftentimes conflictual, accountability claims. Drawing upon a survey of CEO’s of agencies in seven countries, we explore whether and how conflictual accountability regimes relate to strategic behaviors by agency-CEO’s and their political principals. The presence of conflictual accountability is experienced as a major challenge and is associated with im…
Toward a Public Administration Theory of Felt Accountability
The literature on public accountability is extensive but overwhelmingly focuses on accountability of organizations. Yet, accountability mechanisms can function properly only when individuals believe that they will be held accountable in the future. This article bridges that gap by translating and extending the psychological concept of “felt accountability” to the public administration scholarship. The particular context of accountability in publi…
Understanding Felt Accountability: The institutional antecedents of the felt accountability of agency‐CEO's to central government
The literature on autonomous public agencies often adopts a top‐down approach, focusing on the means with which those agencies can be steered and controlled. This article opens up the black box of the agencies and zooms in on their CEO's and their perceptions of hierarchical accountability. The article focuses on felt accountability, denoting the manager's (a) expectation to have to explain substantive decisions to a parent department perceived t…
A Multidimensional Reputation Barometer for Public Agencies: A Validated Instrument
Reputation is of growing interest for the study of public bureaucracies, but a measurement that can discern between the subdimensions of reputation and is validated on real‐life audiences has remained elusive. The authors deductively build, test, and cross‐validate a survey instrument through two surveys of 2,100 key stakeholders of the European Chemicals Agency, the European Union chemicals regulator. This empirical tool measures an agency's rep…
Autonomous Agencies, Happy Citizens? Challenging the Satisfaction Claim
Is the delegation of public services to semi‐autonomous agencies associated with increased citizen satisfaction? This article assesses three theoretical routes that might link the two: responsiveness, credible commitment, and blame deflection. The article draws on data from the European Social Survey and an expert survey about delegation of tax and police services to semi‐autonomous agencies in 15 countries. No supporting evidence was found for t…
Targets for Honesty: How Performance Indicators Shape Integrity in Dutch Higher Education
Universities across the world have recently experienced a number of serious cases of academic misconduct. In the public and academic debates, one dominant explanation exists for the fraudulent behaviour of university staff. Academic misconduct is considered to be the logical behavioural consequence of output‐oriented management practices, based on performance incentives. This article puts this explanation to the test. Based on our analysis of a d…
Accountability After Structural Disaggregation: Comparing Agency Accountability Arrangements
New accountability instruments – performance indicators, audits, and financial incentives – are expected to replace traditional accountability instruments in NPM reforms. We test this expectation by looking at the accountability arrangements of semi‐autonomous agencies as a typical example of NPM reforms. Our findings are based on survey data on 342 agencies in six countries. We identify four types of accountability arrangements in semi‐autonomou…
Resisting governmental control: How semi-autonomous agencies use strategic resources to challenge state coordination
Institutional pressure caused by public sector reform leads to strategic reactions from semi-autonomous agencies. Agencies in the Netherlands and France only complied with a selection of imposed reforms. Other rules were manipulated, not complied with, or compromises were made. The degree of compliance with reforms is not only dependent on structural aspects, but also on resources and power distributions between the actors. A comparison is made b…
Understanding Felt Accountability: The institutional antecedents of the felt accountability of agency‐CEO's to central government
The literature on autonomous public agencies often adopts a top‐down approach, focusing on the means with which those agencies can be steered and controlled. This article opens up the black box of the agencies and zooms in on their CEO's and their perceptions of hierarchical accountability. The article focuses on felt accountability, denoting the manager's (a) expectation to have to explain substantive decisions to a parent department perceived t…
Autonomous Agencies, Happy Citizens? Challenging the Satisfaction Claim
Is the delegation of public services to semi‐autonomous agencies associated with increased citizen satisfaction? This article assesses three theoretical routes that might link the two: responsiveness, credible commitment, and blame deflection. The article draws on data from the European Social Survey and an expert survey about delegation of tax and police services to semi‐autonomous agencies in 15 countries. No supporting evidence was found for t…
Enacting Accountability Under Populist Pressures: Theorizing the Relationship Between Anti-Elite Rhetoric and Public Accountability
While populism challenges the pluralism and technocratic expertise on which public bureaucracies are based, extant scholarship has overlooked its effects on accountability processes. In particular, it neglects the impact of anti-elite rhetoric, characterized by what can be regarded as “emotionalized blame attribution,” on the thinking and behavior of accountability actors. Responding to this gap, this article examines the impact of this distincti…
Accountability After Structural Disaggregation: Comparing Agency Accountability Arrangements
New accountability instruments – performance indicators, audits, and financial incentives – are expected to replace traditional accountability instruments in NPM reforms. We test this expectation by looking at the accountability arrangements of semi‐autonomous agencies as a typical example of NPM reforms. Our findings are based on survey data on 342 agencies in six countries. We identify four types of accountability arrangements in semi‐autonomou…
Resisting governmental control: How semi-autonomous agencies use strategic resources to challenge state coordination
Institutional pressure caused by public sector reform leads to strategic reactions from semi-autonomous agencies. Agencies in the Netherlands and France only complied with a selection of imposed reforms. Other rules were manipulated, not complied with, or compromises were made. The degree of compliance with reforms is not only dependent on structural aspects, but also on resources and power distributions between the actors. A comparison is made b…
Public sector accountability styles in Europe comparing accountability and control of agencies in the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the UK
This paper develops and applies the concept of accountability styles for analyzing and comparing accountability practices in different countries. This is relevant as there is considerable scholarship on public sector accountability but only very few comparative studies. Extant studies have shown that national styles of accountability are both marked by convergence as well as the resilience of national differences. The concept of accountability st…
Conflictual Accountability: Behavioral Responses to Conflictual Accountability of Agencies
In contemporary public governance, leaders of public organizations are faced with multiple, and oftentimes conflictual, accountability claims. Drawing upon a survey of CEO’s of agencies in seven countries, we explore whether and how conflictual accountability regimes relate to strategic behaviors by agency-CEO’s and their political principals. The presence of conflictual accountability is experienced as a major challenge and is associated with im…
Targets for Honesty: How Performance Indicators Shape Integrity in Dutch Higher Education
Universities across the world have recently experienced a number of serious cases of academic misconduct. In the public and academic debates, one dominant explanation exists for the fraudulent behaviour of university staff. Academic misconduct is considered to be the logical behavioural consequence of output‐oriented management practices, based on performance incentives. This article puts this explanation to the test. Based on our analysis of a d…
Resisting governmental control: How semi-autonomous agencies use strategic resources to challenge state coordination
Institutional pressure caused by public sector reform leads to strategic reactions from semi-autonomous agencies. Agencies in the Netherlands and France only complied with a selection of imposed reforms. Other rules were manipulated, not complied with, or compromises were made. The degree of compliance with reforms is not only dependent on structural aspects, but also on resources and power distributions between the actors. A comparison is made b…
Accountability After Structural Disaggregation: Comparing Agency Accountability Arrangements
New accountability instruments – performance indicators, audits, and financial incentives – are expected to replace traditional accountability instruments in NPM reforms. We test this expectation by looking at the accountability arrangements of semi‐autonomous agencies as a typical example of NPM reforms. Our findings are based on survey data on 342 agencies in six countries. We identify four types of accountability arrangements in semi‐autonomou…
Targets for Honesty: How Performance Indicators Shape Integrity in Dutch Higher Education
Universities across the world have recently experienced a number of serious cases of academic misconduct. In the public and academic debates, one dominant explanation exists for the fraudulent behaviour of university staff. Academic misconduct is considered to be the logical behavioural consequence of output‐oriented management practices, based on performance incentives. This article puts this explanation to the test. Based on our analysis of a d…
Autonomous Agencies, Happy Citizens? Challenging the Satisfaction Claim
Is the delegation of public services to semi‐autonomous agencies associated with increased citizen satisfaction? This article assesses three theoretical routes that might link the two: responsiveness, credible commitment, and blame deflection. The article draws on data from the European Social Survey and an expert survey about delegation of tax and police services to semi‐autonomous agencies in 15 countries. No supporting evidence was found for t…
A Multidimensional Reputation Barometer for Public Agencies: A Validated Instrument
Reputation is of growing interest for the study of public bureaucracies, but a measurement that can discern between the subdimensions of reputation and is validated on real‐life audiences has remained elusive. The authors deductively build, test, and cross‐validate a survey instrument through two surveys of 2,100 key stakeholders of the European Chemicals Agency, the European Union chemicals regulator. This empirical tool measures an agency's rep…
A validated measurement for felt relational accountability in the public sector: Gauging the account holder’s legitimacy and expertise
The effectiveness of formal public sector accountability mechanisms is largely predicated on the individual perception of accountability. In particular, the individual’s experienced relationship to account holders is key in understanding the effects of formal accountability mechanisms. This article develops a measurement instrument for felt relational accountability in public administration. We measure perceived legitimacy and expertise of the ac…
Aligning accountability arrangements for ambiguous goals: The case of museums
In a simple model of accountability, the core of the interaction consists of the supply and demand of performance information. Alignment of information supply and demand is crucial for an effective accountability relationship, but alignment is difficult in a situation with ambiguous or contested goals. This study analyzes the alignment between local governments and museums. The study uses a mixed-methods approach, including survey data, formal do…
Conflictual Accountability: Behavioral Responses to Conflictual Accountability of Agencies
In contemporary public governance, leaders of public organizations are faced with multiple, and oftentimes conflictual, accountability claims. Drawing upon a survey of CEO’s of agencies in seven countries, we explore whether and how conflictual accountability regimes relate to strategic behaviors by agency-CEO’s and their political principals. The presence of conflictual accountability is experienced as a major challenge and is associated with im…
Toward a Public Administration Theory of Felt Accountability
The literature on public accountability is extensive but overwhelmingly focuses on accountability of organizations. Yet, accountability mechanisms can function properly only when individuals believe that they will be held accountable in the future. This article bridges that gap by translating and extending the psychological concept of “felt accountability” to the public administration scholarship. The particular context of accountability in publi…
Understanding Felt Accountability: The institutional antecedents of the felt accountability of agency‐CEO's to central government
The literature on autonomous public agencies often adopts a top‐down approach, focusing on the means with which those agencies can be steered and controlled. This article opens up the black box of the agencies and zooms in on their CEO's and their perceptions of hierarchical accountability. The article focuses on felt accountability, denoting the manager's (a) expectation to have to explain substantive decisions to a parent department perceived t…
Public sector accountability styles in Europe comparing accountability and control of agencies in the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the UK
This paper develops and applies the concept of accountability styles for analyzing and comparing accountability practices in different countries. This is relevant as there is considerable scholarship on public sector accountability but only very few comparative studies. Extant studies have shown that national styles of accountability are both marked by convergence as well as the resilience of national differences. The concept of accountability st…
Enacting Accountability Under Populist Pressures: Theorizing the Relationship Between Anti-Elite Rhetoric and Public Accountability
While populism challenges the pluralism and technocratic expertise on which public bureaucracies are based, extant scholarship has overlooked its effects on accountability processes. In particular, it neglects the impact of anti-elite rhetoric, characterized by what can be regarded as “emotionalized blame attribution,” on the thinking and behavior of accountability actors. Responding to this gap, this article examines the impact of this distincti…
From performance to morality: How politicians frame bureaucracy, its organizations, and public sector employees
Politicians frequently voice criticisms vis‐à‐vis bureaucracy, its organizations, and its employees. Previous studies point at the negative impact of this “bureaucratic bashing” on public sector morale, recruitment, retention, and citizen perceptions. Yet, systematic evidence on bashing remains sparse, with even less known about its counterpart: bureaucratic praising. This article aims to fill this gap by conceptualizing both phenomena as forms o…
Coping with occupational stereotypes: An emotional lens on police officers’ experiences
How do public employees cope with negative occupational stereotypes? Limited research examines the psychological processes of how these perceptions shape their behaviour. This study examines how public employees cope with occupational stereotyping and discrimination from the perspective of police officers using an emotion framework. Drawing on 98 hours of observations and 14 in-depth interviews with officers in the Netherlands and the U.S. we fin…
Improving non-executive directors’ judgement quality through information provision: A mixed-method study
This study examines how information provision influences judgement quality of non-executive directors in the semipublic sector. Based on insights from behavioural science, hypotheses were developed and tested using a mixed-methods design, combining an experiment (N = 101) and group interviews (N = 34). The experiment with non-executive directors provides evidence for a causal relationship between information diversity and integrative complexity i…
Political science (13 works) · Law (12 works) · Law (11 works) · Public Administration (11 works) · Public Policy and Administration Research (11 works) · Business (9 works) · Public Administration (9 works) · Accountability (8 works) · Public relations (8 works) · Public sector (7 works)