Toward a Theoretical Framework for Ethical Decision Making of Street-Level Bureaucracy: Existing Models Reconsidered

Kim Loyens*, Jeroen Maesschalck

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Much research has been done on the way in which individuals in organizations deal with their discretion. This article focuses on the literature on street-level bureaucracy and the literature on ethical decision making. Despite their shared attempt to explain individual behavior and decision making, these research traditions have been developed quite independently. Moreover, although they both list relevant influencing factors, they do not succeed entirely in clarifying how and under which circumstances these factors have an impact on individual behavior and decision making. This article attempts to substantiate how the concept of social mechanism could help to open the black box of causation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)66-100
Number of pages35
JournalAdministration and Society
Volume42
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2010

Keywords

  • ethical decision making
  • street-level bureaucracy
  • social mechanisms
  • discretion
  • PRINCIPAL-AGENT RELATIONSHIPS
  • ISSUE-CONTINGENT MODEL
  • ROLE-SET
  • ORGANIZATIONS
  • BEHAVIOR
  • MECHANISMS
  • BUSINESS
  • ACCOUNTABILITY
  • IMPLEMENTATION
  • CONSTRUCTION

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Toward a Theoretical Framework for Ethical Decision Making of Street-Level Bureaucracy: Existing Models Reconsidered'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this