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This article sets out to test the hypothesis that differences in fundamental job characteristics (service vs. regulation) affect discretionary street-level decision-making. The hypothesis was tested by examining whether systematic variation could be found in the moral assessments on which street-level bureaucrats performing different types of core tasks base their decisions. The issue was addressed in a comparative case study comprising three institutions, which differ systematically as far as variables of tasks are concerned. Findings showed that differences in core tasks do affect discretionary decision-making, as divergent moral assessments determine and justify decision-making across different core tasks.

This study tests the hypothesis that the role identity of street-level bureaucrats is related to variation in their discretionary decisions in relation to the behavior of citizen-clients. The study draws on crosssectional survey data on 465 officers from prisons in Denmark. Results from the study show a negative correlation between prison officers role identity as formalistic (state-agent) and the likelihood of differentiating in response to citizen-clients' behavior. Correspondingly, the results shows a positive relationship between informal rule identification (citizen-agent) and differential responses against citizen-client behavior. The findings indicate a causal relationship between street-level bureaucrats' role identity and their discretionary decisions.

Against a tragic background, this study shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed positive innovations in both welfare solutions as well as in public governance solutions of the Danish public sector. Drawing on qualitative as well as quantitative data, this article outlines the character and perceived effects of new welfare solutions among vulnerable citizens, as well as a number of preceding, organizational changes in the administrative machinery of the public sector. Based on this analysis, we generate and discuss a hypothesis about a possible relationship between the governance and welfare innovations that emerged during COVID-19.

På en tragisk baggrund viser dette studie, at COVID-19-pandemien har været katalysator for innovationer i både velfærdsløsninger og den danske offentlige sektors maskinrum. På baggrund af såvel kvantitative som kvalitative data beskriver artiklen dels de nye velfærdsløsningers karakter og oplevede effekt i forhold til udsatte borgere, dels en række forudgående organisatoriske innovationer i forhold til tillidsbaseret ledelse og tværgående samarbejde. På denne baggrund genereres og diskuteres en hypotese om en mulig sammenhæng mellem kriseinduceret organisatorisk innovation og velfærdsinnovation.

Span of control may be a critical structural condition for ethical leadership. According to social learning theory, emulation and vicarious learning processes are mechanisms through which ethical leaders enhance ethical commitment among employees. However, if the span of control (number of employees per manager) is too wide, ethical leadership can be difficult to practice due to a more distant relationship between manager and employees. Using a mixed method design with survey data and interviews, we analyze the relationship between span of control and ethical leadership among doctors in Danish hospitals. Survey results from the study show no statistical association between span of control and clinical directors' self-reported ethical leadership. Interviews with employees and managers support this finding by showing how ethical guidance unfolds through social exchange relationships where employees can act as moral professionals. This suggests that span of control is not a critical structural condition for intending and perceiving a high level of ethical leadership. Span of control is indirectly relevant through the perceived distance between manager and employees. The findings thus enhance our understanding of how ethical leadership takes place in complex, professionalized public organizations. This might inspire managers to lower the organizational power distance and promote professionalism.