Eric Breit
Biographic Data
| ID | 4174820 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Eric Breit |
| GIVEN NAMES | Eric |
| FAMILY NAME | Breit |
| SIGNATURE | BREIT E |
| AFFILIATIONS | BI Norwegian Business School |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5069-7406 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 108 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Varieties of engagement
Despite the increased emphasis on 'employer engagement' to take advantage of demand-side active labour market policies, little attention has been paid to managers. In this paper, we examine the micro-practices of engaged managers in including jobseekers from disadvantaged groups. Through a qualitative study of managers, jobseekers and other stakeholders in twenty-one companies with a history of employing disadvantaged jobseekers, we identify thre…
Development of hybrid professionalism
This paper examines the role of street-level managers in the development of hybrid professionalism. Based on a longitudinal analysis of an organizational reform, we highlight the work of street-level managers in promoting a hybrid ‘social work-like’ professionalism to reconcile social work professionalism with managerial bureaucracy. We highlight four managerial activities – organizational design, discursive reconstruction, R&D project mobilizati…
Providing individualized services under complex conditions
Individualized services are provided under complex conditions, as a variety of factors can affect the ability of a street‐level organization to adapt its services to individual needs and circumstances. Especially challenging are tensions between the means of control and standardization following new public management ( NPM ) and post‐ NPM ideas of holistic and coordinated services. Through a fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis of Norwegian…
Reform Pathways for Integrating Employment Assistance to Marginalized Groups
Service integration—understood as cooperation and collaboration between sectors and organizations—is commonly employed in European countries as a response to internal fragmentation of social security systems. In this chapter, drawing on research from Europe, we show how countries differ on central dimensions regarding service integration aimed at the unemployed. Further, we discuss how service integration depends on countries’ historical and inst…
It is Very Difficult for us to Separate Ourselves from this System”
Research integrity is fundamental to the validity and reliability of scientific findings, and for ethical conduct of research. As part of PRINTEGER (Promoting Integrity as an Integral Dimension of Excellence in Research), this study explores the views of researchers, research managers, administrators, and governance advisors in Estonia, Italy, Norway and UK, focusing specifically on their understanding of institutional and organisational influenc…
‘Damned if you do and damned if you don’t’
A key challenge for contemporary public service organizations is the requirement to incorporate different, at times conflicting, demands into their operations. Such demands and the organizational challenges they impose have been described in theories of institutional complexity, organizational paradox(es) and conflicting public values. In this paper, we complement these existing theories by developing an analytical framework based on the ‘double …
From “what works” to “making it work”
Evidence‐based standards are becoming increasingly influential in frontline services connected to labor market inclusion of vulnerable citizens. To increase our understanding of standardization in such public service delivery, this study draws on interviews and ethnographic fieldwork from two frontline offices in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (2017–2018) that use the evidence‐based Individual Placement and Support (IPS) standard…
Resisting or Facilitating Change? How Street-Level Managers’Situational WorkContributes to the Implementation of Public Reforms
Managers of street-level organizations play an important role in the successful implementation of public reforms. A prevailing view within the public administration literature is that this work involves the adaptation between reforms and local contexts, where divergence is viewed as a form of resistance to change. The article challenges this prevalent reform-centric view by introducing a situation-centric perspective and coining the concept of si…
Digital coping
This article addresses how frontline workers cope when dealing with digitally mediated service encounters. It draws on a qualitative study of frontline workers' experiences in an increasingly digitalised work environment in the context of employment assistance services. The material shows that digitalising service encounters leads to two overall types of change for frontline employees, and the article explores related coping responses. First, the…
On the Willingness to Report and the Consequences of Reporting Research Misconduct
While attention to research integrity has been growing over the past decades, the processes of signalling and denouncing cases of research misconduct remain largely unstudied. In this article, we develop a theoretically and empirically informed understanding of the causes and consequences of reporting research misconduct in terms of power relations. We study the reporting process based on a multinational survey at eight European universities (N =…
Research approaches to networked employment services
Research on networked services aimed at the (re)employment of groups marginalised from the labour market has gained momentum in different scholarly traditions (e.g., public administration, healthcare and social policy), but the topic remains somewhat fragmented. In this paper, we systematise and synthesise this research with the aim of outlining distinct research approaches, facilitating increased cross‐disciplinary understandings and promoting i…
A knowledge hierarchy in labour and welfare services? Evidence‐based and practice‐based knowledge in frontline service innovation
Although policy‐makers and scholars have directed increasing attention towards collaborative innovation and knowledge development between frontline agencies and workers and other stakeholders such as citizens and researchers, empirical research has not focused on the (varying) assessment of collaborators regarding what knowledge is “appropriate” to develop. In this article, we examine such knowledge assessments by drawing on a comparative case st…
Hvorfor lykkes ikke NAV-kontorene med å jobbe mer arbeidsrettet?
En sentral forklaring på NAVs manglende måloppnåelse om flere i arbeid og aktivitet og færre på trygd har vært omstillingsprosessen med den lokale etableringen av NAV-kontorene. I denne artikkelen drøfter vi en alternativ forklaring som involverer mer langsiktige strukturelle utfordringer for NAV-kontorene. Basert på kvalitative og kvantitative data fra ti NAV-kontorer skisserer vi tre strukturelle utfordringer: (a) Arbeids- og velferdsdirektorat…
Modification of Public Policies by Street-Level Organisations
The literature on policy implementation is divided with regards to the impact of street-level bureaucrats on the implementation of public policies. In this paper, we aim to add to and nuance these debates by focusing on 'institutional work' - i.e. the creation, maintenance and disruption of institutions - undertaken by central authorities and street-level bureaucrats during public reform processes. On the basis of a case study of the organisation…
Making the Technological Transition – Citizens' Encounters with Digital Pension Services
We examine in this article the impact of digitization on the provision of public services by studying how citizens experience the use of web portals in their pension planning. Based on focus groups and user test material, we elucidate five critical phases that each operate as an obstacle for citizens' further engagement in the digital self‐service process: interest, access, comprehension, reflection and support. We argue that these phases and the…
Managing Institutional Complexity in Public Sector Reform
In this article, we explore how public front‐line service organizations respond to contradictory demands for institutional reform and the types of hybridization this entails. Our research context is a major administrative welfare reform in Norway characterized by a dominant New Public Management ( NPM ) logic of uniform user service and central administrative control, and a subordinate post‐ NPM logic of holistic user service and local organizati…
The making of 'professional amateurs
The aim of this article is, through empirical material from Norway, to grasp a particular form of non-profit professionalization spurred by the incorporation of policies of service user involvement in health care and in social services. By drawing on perspectives from the research on professionalization, our ambition is to increase the understanding of the nature of this form of professionalization, how it differs from other kinds of professional…
Discursive contests of corruption
We still know relatively little of the discursive processes that take place in representations of ‘corruption’ in the media. Based on a critical discursive analysis of the media coverage of a corruption scandal in the Norwegian alcohol monopoly, this study highlights four discursive contests around which sense was made of alleged corruption: (1) definitions of corruption, (2) organizational hierarchy and power abuse, (3) state/market relations, a…
Managing Institutional Complexity in Public Sector Reform
In this article, we explore how public front‐line service organizations respond to contradictory demands for institutional reform and the types of hybridization this entails. Our research context is a major administrative welfare reform in Norway characterized by a dominant New Public Management ( NPM ) logic of uniform user service and central administrative control, and a subordinate post‐ NPM logic of holistic user service and local organizati…
Resisting or Facilitating Change? How Street-Level Managers’Situational WorkContributes to the Implementation of Public Reforms
Managers of street-level organizations play an important role in the successful implementation of public reforms. A prevailing view within the public administration literature is that this work involves the adaptation between reforms and local contexts, where divergence is viewed as a form of resistance to change. The article challenges this prevalent reform-centric view by introducing a situation-centric perspective and coining the concept of si…
Digital coping
This article addresses how frontline workers cope when dealing with digitally mediated service encounters. It draws on a qualitative study of frontline workers' experiences in an increasingly digitalised work environment in the context of employment assistance services. The material shows that digitalising service encounters leads to two overall types of change for frontline employees, and the article explores related coping responses. First, the…
The making of 'professional amateurs
The aim of this article is, through empirical material from Norway, to grasp a particular form of non-profit professionalization spurred by the incorporation of policies of service user involvement in health care and in social services. By drawing on perspectives from the research on professionalization, our ambition is to increase the understanding of the nature of this form of professionalization, how it differs from other kinds of professional…
Making the Technological Transition – Citizens' Encounters with Digital Pension Services
We examine in this article the impact of digitization on the provision of public services by studying how citizens experience the use of web portals in their pension planning. Based on focus groups and user test material, we elucidate five critical phases that each operate as an obstacle for citizens' further engagement in the digital self‐service process: interest, access, comprehension, reflection and support. We argue that these phases and the…
Modification of Public Policies by Street-Level Organisations
The literature on policy implementation is divided with regards to the impact of street-level bureaucrats on the implementation of public policies. In this paper, we aim to add to and nuance these debates by focusing on 'institutional work' - i.e. the creation, maintenance and disruption of institutions - undertaken by central authorities and street-level bureaucrats during public reform processes. On the basis of a case study of the organisation…
A knowledge hierarchy in labour and welfare services? Evidence‐based and practice‐based knowledge in frontline service innovation
Although policy‐makers and scholars have directed increasing attention towards collaborative innovation and knowledge development between frontline agencies and workers and other stakeholders such as citizens and researchers, empirical research has not focused on the (varying) assessment of collaborators regarding what knowledge is “appropriate” to develop. In this article, we examine such knowledge assessments by drawing on a comparative case st…
From “what works” to “making it work”
Evidence‐based standards are becoming increasingly influential in frontline services connected to labor market inclusion of vulnerable citizens. To increase our understanding of standardization in such public service delivery, this study draws on interviews and ethnographic fieldwork from two frontline offices in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (2017–2018) that use the evidence‐based Individual Placement and Support (IPS) standard…
Providing individualized services under complex conditions
Individualized services are provided under complex conditions, as a variety of factors can affect the ability of a street‐level organization to adapt its services to individual needs and circumstances. Especially challenging are tensions between the means of control and standardization following new public management ( NPM ) and post‐ NPM ideas of holistic and coordinated services. Through a fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis of Norwegian…
Discursive contests of corruption
We still know relatively little of the discursive processes that take place in representations of ‘corruption’ in the media. Based on a critical discursive analysis of the media coverage of a corruption scandal in the Norwegian alcohol monopoly, this study highlights four discursive contests around which sense was made of alleged corruption: (1) definitions of corruption, (2) organizational hierarchy and power abuse, (3) state/market relations, a…
Discursive contests of corruption
We still know relatively little of the discursive processes that take place in representations of ‘corruption’ in the media. Based on a critical discursive analysis of the media coverage of a corruption scandal in the Norwegian alcohol monopoly, this study highlights four discursive contests around which sense was made of alleged corruption: (1) definitions of corruption, (2) organizational hierarchy and power abuse, (3) state/market relations, a…
The making of 'professional amateurs
The aim of this article is, through empirical material from Norway, to grasp a particular form of non-profit professionalization spurred by the incorporation of policies of service user involvement in health care and in social services. By drawing on perspectives from the research on professionalization, our ambition is to increase the understanding of the nature of this form of professionalization, how it differs from other kinds of professional…
Making the Technological Transition – Citizens' Encounters with Digital Pension Services
We examine in this article the impact of digitization on the provision of public services by studying how citizens experience the use of web portals in their pension planning. Based on focus groups and user test material, we elucidate five critical phases that each operate as an obstacle for citizens' further engagement in the digital self‐service process: interest, access, comprehension, reflection and support. We argue that these phases and the…
Managing Institutional Complexity in Public Sector Reform
In this article, we explore how public front‐line service organizations respond to contradictory demands for institutional reform and the types of hybridization this entails. Our research context is a major administrative welfare reform in Norway characterized by a dominant New Public Management ( NPM ) logic of uniform user service and central administrative control, and a subordinate post‐ NPM logic of holistic user service and local organizati…
Hvorfor lykkes ikke NAV-kontorene med å jobbe mer arbeidsrettet?
En sentral forklaring på NAVs manglende måloppnåelse om flere i arbeid og aktivitet og færre på trygd har vært omstillingsprosessen med den lokale etableringen av NAV-kontorene. I denne artikkelen drøfter vi en alternativ forklaring som involverer mer langsiktige strukturelle utfordringer for NAV-kontorene. Basert på kvalitative og kvantitative data fra ti NAV-kontorer skisserer vi tre strukturelle utfordringer: (a) Arbeids- og velferdsdirektorat…
Modification of Public Policies by Street-Level Organisations
The literature on policy implementation is divided with regards to the impact of street-level bureaucrats on the implementation of public policies. In this paper, we aim to add to and nuance these debates by focusing on 'institutional work' - i.e. the creation, maintenance and disruption of institutions - undertaken by central authorities and street-level bureaucrats during public reform processes. On the basis of a case study of the organisation…
A knowledge hierarchy in labour and welfare services? Evidence‐based and practice‐based knowledge in frontline service innovation
Although policy‐makers and scholars have directed increasing attention towards collaborative innovation and knowledge development between frontline agencies and workers and other stakeholders such as citizens and researchers, empirical research has not focused on the (varying) assessment of collaborators regarding what knowledge is “appropriate” to develop. In this article, we examine such knowledge assessments by drawing on a comparative case st…
On the Willingness to Report and the Consequences of Reporting Research Misconduct
While attention to research integrity has been growing over the past decades, the processes of signalling and denouncing cases of research misconduct remain largely unstudied. In this article, we develop a theoretically and empirically informed understanding of the causes and consequences of reporting research misconduct in terms of power relations. We study the reporting process based on a multinational survey at eight European universities (N =…
Research approaches to networked employment services
Research on networked services aimed at the (re)employment of groups marginalised from the labour market has gained momentum in different scholarly traditions (e.g., public administration, healthcare and social policy), but the topic remains somewhat fragmented. In this paper, we systematise and synthesise this research with the aim of outlining distinct research approaches, facilitating increased cross‐disciplinary understandings and promoting i…
Digital coping
This article addresses how frontline workers cope when dealing with digitally mediated service encounters. It draws on a qualitative study of frontline workers' experiences in an increasingly digitalised work environment in the context of employment assistance services. The material shows that digitalising service encounters leads to two overall types of change for frontline employees, and the article explores related coping responses. First, the…
‘Damned if you do and damned if you don’t’
A key challenge for contemporary public service organizations is the requirement to incorporate different, at times conflicting, demands into their operations. Such demands and the organizational challenges they impose have been described in theories of institutional complexity, organizational paradox(es) and conflicting public values. In this paper, we complement these existing theories by developing an analytical framework based on the ‘double …
From “what works” to “making it work”
Evidence‐based standards are becoming increasingly influential in frontline services connected to labor market inclusion of vulnerable citizens. To increase our understanding of standardization in such public service delivery, this study draws on interviews and ethnographic fieldwork from two frontline offices in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (2017–2018) that use the evidence‐based Individual Placement and Support (IPS) standard…
Resisting or Facilitating Change? How Street-Level Managers’Situational WorkContributes to the Implementation of Public Reforms
Managers of street-level organizations play an important role in the successful implementation of public reforms. A prevailing view within the public administration literature is that this work involves the adaptation between reforms and local contexts, where divergence is viewed as a form of resistance to change. The article challenges this prevalent reform-centric view by introducing a situation-centric perspective and coining the concept of si…
Reform Pathways for Integrating Employment Assistance to Marginalized Groups
Service integration—understood as cooperation and collaboration between sectors and organizations—is commonly employed in European countries as a response to internal fragmentation of social security systems. In this chapter, drawing on research from Europe, we show how countries differ on central dimensions regarding service integration aimed at the unemployed. Further, we discuss how service integration depends on countries’ historical and inst…
It is Very Difficult for us to Separate Ourselves from this System”
Research integrity is fundamental to the validity and reliability of scientific findings, and for ethical conduct of research. As part of PRINTEGER (Promoting Integrity as an Integral Dimension of Excellence in Research), this study explores the views of researchers, research managers, administrators, and governance advisors in Estonia, Italy, Norway and UK, focusing specifically on their understanding of institutional and organisational influenc…
Development of hybrid professionalism
This paper examines the role of street-level managers in the development of hybrid professionalism. Based on a longitudinal analysis of an organizational reform, we highlight the work of street-level managers in promoting a hybrid ‘social work-like’ professionalism to reconcile social work professionalism with managerial bureaucracy. We highlight four managerial activities – organizational design, discursive reconstruction, R&D project mobilizati…
Providing individualized services under complex conditions
Individualized services are provided under complex conditions, as a variety of factors can affect the ability of a street‐level organization to adapt its services to individual needs and circumstances. Especially challenging are tensions between the means of control and standardization following new public management ( NPM ) and post‐ NPM ideas of holistic and coordinated services. Through a fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis of Norwegian…
Varieties of engagement
Despite the increased emphasis on 'employer engagement' to take advantage of demand-side active labour market policies, little attention has been paid to managers. In this paper, we examine the micro-practices of engaged managers in including jobseekers from disadvantaged groups. Through a qualitative study of managers, jobseekers and other stakeholders in twenty-one companies with a history of employing disadvantaged jobseekers, we identify thre…
Political science (16 works) · Public relations (13 works) · Business (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Public Policy and Administration Research (8 works) · Economics (7 works) · Management and Organizational Studies (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Management (5 works) · Marketing (5 works)