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How often integrity violations occur in Western governance, and the precise nature of these violations, is as yet not very clear. Data on this subject—drawn from experience in the Netherlands—are presented here. The main research question is: What is the scale of integrity violations within Dutch public governance and what is the nature of these violations? The article provides the results of research on the perceptions of 7,315 Dutch civil servants who were surveyed on integrity violations in their work surroundings. All told, 2,035 respondents (nearly 28%) reported suspicion(s) of integrity violations in their direct working environment in the preceding two years. A substantial proportion of respondents said that they had experienced inappropriate and ill-mannered behavior and relatively "small" violations, such as profiting at the expense of the organization (fraud, abuse of resources) through noncompliance with working-hour regulations or by abuse of the organization's resources. Integrity of governance in a Western context concerns corruption (and fraud), but there are indeed many other types of integrity violations that are prominent in the eyes of public sector employees. The moral quality of governance is thus also related to other values and norms than incorruptibility and impartiality. It seems important to incorporate this perspective into the fierce theoretical and practical debate on the corruption and integrity of governance.

Good governance involves managing conflicting values, leading to the main research question, which consists of three parts: Which public value profiles do public administrators have, which value conflicts do they experience, and which coping strategies are used? Here, previous literature on public value conflicts is discussed first and linked to the literature on street-level bureaucrats and on coping strategies. Then two case studies are presented: a municipality and a hospital. The findings show six different value clusters that administrators adhere to and clarify which value conflicts are typically experienced in various public sector organizations and which different coping mechanisms are used.

Since the late 1980s, public administration has moved to a more businesslike approach, commonly referred to as New Public Management or NPM. Output budgeting, privatization, competition and commercialization receive more attention. The question has been raised if too much identification with the style of the private sector might not generate undesired effect, for instance in the area of public integrity. In this paper a theory, based on existing knowledge is provided about the possible negative, as well as the positive, effects on public integrity of the introduction of businesslike methods in the public service. The overall conclusion of the paper is that the effect of introducing businesslike methods in the public sector depends more on the establishment of practical principles to ensure that these methods are exercised in an effective and ethical manner, than the introduction of businesslike methods as such.

Ethics in Public Policy and Management: A global research companion showcases the latest research from established and newly emerging scholars in the fields of public management and ethics. This collection examines the profound changes of the last 25 years, including the rise of New Public Management, New Public Governance and Public Value; how these have altered practitioners' delivery of public services; and how academics think about those services.Drawing on research from a broad range of disciplines, Ethics in Public Policy and Management looks to reflect on this changing landscape. With c

How often are politicians confronted with public allegations of integrity violations? Which types of violations, government levels, and parties do these scandals involve? The Political Integrity Index developed in The Netherlands offers information about the number and types of political integrity scandals in the country since 2013. This article presents a brief overview of the relevant literature on integrity and corruption and on political scandals, with a summary of the conceptual framework and methodology used in our research, as well as some of the results. In the years 2013–2019, 355 political integrity scandals were documented, primarily at the local level of government (79%), involving almost all political parties but with the liberal–conservative People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie [VVD]) most prominent (90 scandals), and containing all types of integrity violations, with as the most prominent type "misconduct in the private sphere" (30%). The topic of integrity scandals involving politicians is relevant but nearly absent in research on public integrity and corruption. This is a challenge and an invitation to researchers in other countries to do comparable research, which might result in a theoretically and practically useful international political integrity index. For that research, the framework of the Political Integrity Index seems useful.

Die Korruption und ihre Kausalität gehören zu den umstrittensten Konzepten in den Sozialwissenschaften und ihre Kombination bietet ein sowohl faszinierendes wie auch ein scheinbar unlösbares Puzzle. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird versucht, einige der umstrittenen Fragen der Korruptionsforschung zu klären, die zum Beispiel die Charakterisierung und Definition von Korruption sowie die Frage betreffen, wie ihre Ursachen theoretisch interpretiert werden können. Nach dem modernen Verständnis wird die Korruption gemeinhin als der Missbrauch anvertrauter Macht zum eigenen Nutzen definiert. Diese Interpretation ist in erster Linie verhaltensfokussiert, individualistisch und staatszentriert, das heißt die Korruption wird in der Regel als eine Art Beziehungsphänomen verstanden, wo mindestens zwei Akteure miteinander interagieren. Die Art und Weise der Betrachtung dieses Beziehungsphänomens fällt je nach Disziplin, theoretischen Grundprämissen und Forschungsinteressen unterschiedlich aus. Um die Wechselbeziehungen der verschiedenen analytischen Ebenen zu verdeutlichen, entwirft der Autor ein Mehrebenenmodell, in dem die Bedingungen und Ursachen der Korruption abgebildet werden können. (ICI)

Over the last decades scholars have been devoting more and more attention to differences and similarities between public and private sector organizations. Relatively underrepresented, when compared to studies on organizational status and management, are comparative empirical studies on the differences and similarities between the central values of public and private sector organizations. This article presents an overview of the academic debate on differences and similarities between the morals and values of public and private sector organizations. Public and private sector values derived from Administrative Ethics and Business Ethics literature are compared, as well as values that are mentioned in public and private sector codes of conduct. In addition, intra-sector comparisons between the values derived from literature reviews and those in codes are conducted. After the distinguished values are weighted, combined and supplemented, taking into account empirical research on public and private sector values as well, a definitive 'value panorama' is presented as a basis for empirical comparative research. Implications and strategies for future research are presented.