Why boundary conditions matter: The influence of publicness and degree choice on citizen perceptions of public service failure

Document Type:	Conference presentation
Year of publication:	2024
Conference title:	The Annual Conference of the European Group for Public Administration 2024 (EGPA 2024)
Location of the conference venue:	Athens, Greece
Date of the conference:	03.-06.09.2024
Related URLs:	https://www.conftool.org/egpa-conference... https://www.conftool.org/egpa-conference... https://iias-iisa.org/egpa-2024-conferen...
Publication language:	English
Institution:	Business School > ABWL, Public & Non Profit Management (Helmig 2008-)
Subject:	350 Public administration
Keywords (English):	public service failure , sector bias , motivated reasoning , performance evaluation
Abstract:	Public service failures are a pervasive issue in public administration, manifesting in various forms from process inefficiencies to critical outcome failures, often leading to significant adverse consequences for affected citizens. Despite the inherent subjectivity of public service failure experiences, the role of citizen perceptions remains underexplored, particularly in comparison to perceptions of private sector failures. This study investigates whether publicness influences citizens' perceptions of public service failures and how the degree of choice between service providers affects these perceptions. Using a factorial survey experiment with a 2x3 design in the context of healthcare services in Germany, we examine how citizens' performance perceptions vary between public and private service providers under different choice conditions—ranging from monopolistic settings to environments with choice overload. Our findings will contribute to the literature on public sector bias and service failure by exploring how personal service experiences, rather than aggregate performance information, shape citizen perceptions. Additionally, we aim to shed light on the boundary conditions under which citizens' responses to public service failures differ, particularly in monopolistic situations where exit options are limited. These insights will have practical implications for public managers, offering a more nuanced understanding of how citizens perceive public versus private service failures and informing more tailored managerial responses to service failures in varying contexts.