Enforcement officials' coping strategies in a changing regulatory environment

• Published in: Public administration (London) 2022-06, Vol.100 (2), p.408-426
• Main Authors: Liu, Ning, Tang, Shui‐Yan, Lo, Carlos Wing‐Hung, Zhan, Xueyong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Coping; Coping strategies; Enforcement; Institutional aspects; Pay satisfaction; Performance management; Polls & surveys; Satisfaction; Transparency; Work; Work environment
• ISSN: 0033-3298; 1467-9299
• DOI: 10.1111/padm.12735

Enforcement officials' coping strategies evolve with changes in job attitudes, work situations, and institutional support. As the institutional context becomes more challenging with stronger performance management and transparency pressures, enforcement officials are less likely to move toward regulatees. Besides, in a more challenging context, officials with higher pay satisfaction and societal support are more likely to move toward regulatees. Yet officials are consistently less likely to move toward regulatees if they receive fewer resources or more government support. These correlations are supported by results from two rounds of surveys with environmental regulatory enforcement officials in China. Our interviews and archival documents helped unearth changes in institutional contexts and enforcement activities between and after our two surveys. This study advances a dynamic view of coping among street‐level bureaucrats by showing how changes in institutional contexts may reshape the motivational bases of coping strategies. 摘要 基层执法人员的应对战略会随着工作态度、工作情景、以及制度支持的变迁而变化。当绩效管理和透明的压力使得制度环境变得越来越有挑战性, 执法人员就不会太倾向于亲近被管制对象。此外, 在一个越来越有挑战性的情景下, 如果执法人员对自己的工资水平更满意或者感知到更强的社会支持, 那么他们更有可能去亲近被管制对象。但是如果执法人员感受到资源匮乏或者更强的政府支持, 那么他们就不太可能亲近被管制对象。我们通过对中国环境基层执法人员的两轮问卷调查发现了这些相关性。同时, 基于对执法人员的访谈和公开文件的分析, 我们发现了在执行这两轮问卷调查前后制度环境以及执法活动的改变趋势。我们的研究提供了一个关于应对战略的动态视角:制度环境的变迁有可能改变基层执法人员应对战略的激励基础。