Controlling corruption necessitates collaboration between service providers and recipients, as emphasized by the co-creation theory. In this context, e-participation has emerged as a promising avenue for fostering collaboration through online platforms in the ongoing battle against corruption. This research relies on national-level data obtained from the World Bank, Transparency International, and the United Nations to investigate the relationship between e-participation and the control of corruption. Through a comprehensive data analysis involving 136 countries over a five biennial period from 2012 to 2020, the results reveal no statistically significant correlation between e-participation and corruption control. This finding raises pertinent questions about the effectiveness of current e-participation approaches, or the measurements employed to evaluate their impact on combating corruption. The implications of this finding are significant for policymakers and governance monitoring bodies, underscoring the need for a re-evaluation and enhancement of existing e-participation mechanisms and anti-corruption strategies within the co-creation framework.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the transitional status of new public management (NPM) into new public governance (NPG) in a developing country context. Some authors, based on their research in developed countries, have claimed that NPM is dead. However, such claims have apparently ignored the transformational status of NPM in developing countries. This paper addresses that gap.
Design/methodology/approach A qualitative method was used in this research. Public officials, elected representatives and local users who were responsible for public service management at local levels in Bangladesh were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires tailored to each group. The interview texts were then organised and analysed using NVivo software.
Findings This research reveals that four public management elements comprising decentralisation, market-based services, efficiency and accountability, which are prerequisites for creating an appropriate environment for NPG, have not been established successfully in Bangladesh. This finding suggests that NPG may not be achieved without effective implementation of these elements through NPM practices. The study concludes that NPM needs to be practiced for more time in Bangladesh for the effective transformation of public management into public governance.
Research limitations/implications Findings from this research will help public policy makers and researchers to identify barriers to and design the pathway for a smooth shift from NPM to NPG.
Practical implications The findings of this research would help the Government of Bangladesh and international aid agencies to better understand the status of NPM and NPG in regional Bangladesh.
Social implications The research findings may help identify barriers to enhancing participatory activities in a developing society.
Originality/value Though NPM is an obsolete theory for developed countries, it needs to be implemented successfully in developing countries prior to the implementation of NPG.
AbstractThe national‐level data extracted from the World Bank, Transparency International, and the United Nations databases were analysed in this study to examine the contribution of e‐participation in improving governance factors through its influence on corruption, voice and accountability, and government effectiveness. The analysis has provided a mixed outcome in improving governance through e‐participation, showing a significant relationship between e‐participation and corruption‐perception, and government effectiveness. Meanwhile, the relationships between e‐participation and voice and accountability are insignificant. This finding indicates that the present form of e‐participation in ensuring citizens' voices for holding service providers accountable may have some limitations. The findings have implications for international organisations and government institutions to redesign their e‐participation methods and tools to warrant citizens' voice and ensure accountability of service providers at the national level.
In recent years, "participatory governance" has emerged as an important concept within the governance domain. It is a policy that insinuates participation of local citizens to implement locally based propeople development initiatives. International aid agencies have been pursuing this agenda with an aim to provide greater legitimacy to development projects for economic growth in developing countries. In response, the government of Bangladesh has been trying to implement participatory governance policies for aid‐assisted development projects for the last three decades. However, empirical studies reveal that the level of participation of local citizens in development projects has hardly been improved despite such attempts. Relying on six aid‐assisted project‐based case studies, this article explores the reasons of such a failure and has found out that the dysfunctional political system and corruption in Bangladesh have compromised the role of the state in ensuring any meaningful participation of ordinary citizens in local‐level development activities.Related Articles
The government of Bangladesh has introduced several initiatives seeking to develop participatory governance at the local level in order to maximise the outcomes of aid-assisted development projects. This article examines the impact of these initiatives and demonstrates that participatory local governance faces a number of challenges in Bangladesh, in particular, absence of democratic culture and tradition and disengagement of citizens, asymmetric distribution of patronage and weak institutions. In theory, political elites and bureaucrats in Bangladesh advocate democracy, accountability and local-level participation, but in practice, they have an affinity for power and centralised authority. Their reform initiatives seem half-hearted and disjointed restricting the growth of democratic culture and participatory local governance at the local level in Bangladesh. Adapted from the source document.
Purpose– This study aims to describe an assessment methodology of e-Government readiness through an empirical study that investigates collaborative needs in operating effective governance at root-level public service delivery in a developing country context. Broader methodology that accommodates collective functions of the government should be used while assessing the readiness of e-Government implementation.Design/methodology/approach– The study is based on interview data collected from a total of 13 government officials, 21 elected representatives and 106 targeted citizens in the local government of Bangladesh.Findings– Through a qualitative case study, this paper empirically investigated a proposition of e-Government readiness within local government cases. The findings of the study may help rectify existing assessment methodologies in e-Government implementation.Research limitations/implications– The data analysis used a collaborative perspective subjectively rather than focusing on the objective manner to capture technological aspects.Practical implications– This finding could benefit various e-Government initiatives in developing countries, especially for addressing critical collaborative needs of e-Government implementation.Social implications– The findings of the paper represent social perspectives of new e-Government system implementation.Originality/value– The study proposed a holistic methodology of e-Government readiness assessment that can broaden existing assessment methodologies.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the perceptions of key stakeholders of the human resource management (HRM) practices and challenges in performing arts organisations in Victoria, Australia. Challenges include the precarious nature of employment in the industry; poor wages and conditions leading to financial insecurity and the domination of the industry by small- and medium-sized organisations. The passion and commitment of the performing arts workforce are both a strength and a weakness in that they "buy in" to the expectations of long hours and unpaid work. These challenges impact on managers and administrators as well as performers and raise many challenges for the HRM function and places constraints on even basic HRM practices. Despite the claims of the stakeholders that the large companies have sophisticated HRM practices the early evidence suggests otherwise. Furthermore, many of these problems cannot be solved at the organisational level and need an industry and government response.
Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach is used to guide this study as it allows contextual evaluation of the data. Eight key stakeholders interviewed for this study included one official specialising in industrial relations from Live Performance Australia, one official from the Media and Entertainment and Arts Alliance, two government officials from the State government, one with responsibility for working with Performing Arts companies in relation to funding and resources, and the other with responsibility for government arts policy development; two chief executive officers – one from a small arts company and the other from a large arts company; one HR director from a large arts company; and one manager from a small-to-medium-size company. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were undertaken to provide an information-rich inquiry.
Findings The study suggests that there are considerable barriers to the effective adoption and implementation of HRM in the performing arts. In particular, the research identified four major features that impact on HRM practices in the arts sector. These are: first, the precarious nature of employment, due to the short-term and project focussed work. Second, the reliance on often limited government funding, supplemented by philanthropy, sponsorship and box office takings, leading to short-term and long-term financial insecurity and limited capacity for long-term planning. Third, limited resources and high levels of casualisation which leads to low income, poor working conditions, lack of training and few opportunities for career development. Fourth, despite these difficult conditions, the sector appears to attract a highly motivated and committed workforce including not just performers but also managers and administrators and the sector appears to rely on their passion, commitment and shared endeavour.
Research limitations/implications The study has limitations. For example, it focussed at the macro level of key stakeholders rather than at the organisational level which is the usual unit of analysis for HRM studies. The stakeholders made many claims about HRM practices that need to be explored in further research at the organisational level. Also, apart from the trade union interviewee, the employee voice is missing. Again, further research into both performing arts practitioners and managers and administrators would be valuable future research.
Practical implications This study raises a number of implications for practice. The first is that government policy makers need to focus on the sustainability of their funding models and take account of the myriad of evidence that now exists in regard to the detrimental impact of precarious employment in the increasingly valuable performing arts sector. A policy approach that highlights longevity and development of the sector rather than an emphasis on encouraging competition between small companies for financial survival has much to offer. The second is in relation to industry players who rather than blaming governments could take some control through supporting the growth of networks that could provide training and development and career development opportunities for organisations and individuals (Hennekam and Bennett, 2017).
Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of HRM systems and practices in the performing arts.
Elite capture is a major barrier to citizen engagement in local governance processes in many developing countries. Data from six case studies of development initiatives in Bangladesh show that, in spite of attempts by aid donors and others to ensure citizen participation, programmes are dominated by a nexus of local elites including MPs and bureaucrats. Local stakeholders do not understand the value that direct citizen participation can bring, and citizens are unaware of their rights and wary of challenging elites. Monitoring of requirements for citizen participation is weak, and the management of some programmes deters participation. Representatives are sometimes selected by elites and legal frameworks are not sufficiently strong or enforced consistently. We conclude that a range of additional and effectively implemented policy measures are required to reduce the extent and effects of elite capture in developing countries.
AbstractParticipatory governance in developing countries is broadly viewed as an essential prerequisite for successful implementation of public projects. However, it poses many challenges for public bureaucrats in terms of their skills and willingness to engage citizens. Despite the growing evidence of the pervasiveness of participatory governance, research to date has not explored bureaucratic readiness to adopt participatory practices. This research presents findings of a bureaucratic readiness assessment for participatory governance in Bangladesh by exploring how public bureaucrats perceive the value of participation; how they are educated to collaborate with stakeholders; and the extent to which their attitudes are amenable to enhancing participatory governance. Our findings suggest that we can classify readiness in terms of both motivational and educational factors. The study has implications for how readiness can be developed in public officials that may assist in fostering participatory governance in Bangladesh and be informative to other countries experiencing similar issues.
Social Media (SM), in recent years, is emerging as a common platform for low cost information exchange, and has attracted a critical mass of users both at corporate and retail levels. Theoretically, SM can thus be used as a tool to strengthen e-procurement in the public sector. Towards this end, we have prepared a conceptual model drawing on literature reviews and some examples while identifying a set of expected benefits and challenges within four stages of e-procurement. Using the framework, a case study has been conducted involving Australian public procurement initiatives and 15 federal government senior officials engaged in e-procurement. They have been interviewed to shed light on the possibilities and challenges of using SM in the public e-procurement context. The findings of the study suggest a limited scope for SM usage in the Australian public sector e-procurement process. The implications of the findings are discussed and some recommendations offered.
