Featured Research
Wang, W., & Kim, T. K. (2022). Examining the effects of a performance management reform on employee attitudes and organizational climate. Public Management Review, 1-23. 【download】
This article employs a difference-in-differences design to study how a ‘managing for results’ reform in New York City public schools affected employees’ attitudes and perceptions of organizational climate. Findings show that the reform produced largely negative effects on employees’ attitudes and perceptions, and the effects were heterogeneous by organizations’ performance levels. This study expands performance management research by examining its effect on employee attitudes and organizational climate. It presents a more nuanced view of how employees react to and receive performance management reforms and contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the consequences of performance management reforms.
Wang, Weijie, and Rusi Sun. "Linking Top Leader Turnover to the Performance of Public Organizations: Evidence from New York City Public High Schools." Public Performance & Management Review (2021): 1-25.
Limited research has taken the contingency perspective to analyze the conditions under which the impact of top leader turnover on public organizations’ performance may vary. Using panel data from New York City public high schools, this study not only examines the main effect of principal turnover on schools’ performance but also how the main effect depends on schools’ baseline performance. Two estimation strategies—namely fixed effect models and Blundell–Bond dynamic panel models—find a consistent pattern that leader turnover is negatively associated with subsequent organizational performance, and the negative impact is stronger in low-performing organizations than it is in high-performing organizations. This study contributes to the literature by showing that the disruptive effects of leader turnover outweigh the adaptive effects in some public organizations. Moreover, the contingency perspective highlights the role of pre-turnover performance in moderating the effect of leader turnover.
Lu, X., Wang, W., & Xu, H. (2020). Who can serve as the proxy for public employees in public administration experiments? a cross-sample comparison. Public Management Review, 1-21.
This article examines whether convenience samples such as undergraduate students, MPA students, and online subjects can replicate the findings based on public officials in experimental research. We used a 2 × 2 factorial experimental design (High/Low Help-deservingness Clients × With/Without Situational Stress) with scenarios of discretionary decision-making by street-level bureaucrats in China. The four samples showed a consistent pattern in the impact of client help-deservingness on discretionary decision-making, but differed in the effects of situational stress on discretionary decision-making. We suggest that researchers be cautious in using convenience samples as surrogates for professional bureaucrats when the scenarios require professional expertise.
Siciliano, M. D., Wang, W., & Medina, A. (2020). Mechanisms of network formation in the public sector: A systematic review of the literature. Perspectives on Public Management and Governance.
This article provides a systematic review of the network formation literature in the public sector. In particular, we code and categorize the theoretical mechanisms used in empirical network research to motivate collaboration and tie formation. Based on a review of the 107 articles on network formation found in 40 journals of public administration and policy from 1998 to 2019, we identify 15 distinct theoretical categories. For each category, we describe the theory, highlight its use in the literature, and identify limitations and concerns with current applications. Overall, we find that most studies rely on a similar set of general theories of network formation. More importantly, we find that most theoretical mechanisms are not well specified, and empirical tests are often unable to directly assess the specific underlying mechanism. The results of our review highlight the need for our field to embrace experimental designs, develop panel network datasets, and engage in more network-level research.
Wang, W., & Sun, R. (2020). Does organizational performance affect employee turnover? A re‐examination of the turnover–performance
relationship. Public Administration, 98(1), 210-225.
A common problem with using organizational performance as the dependent variable is the ignoring of feedback effect. The current conceptualization of the turnover–performance relationship is mostly unidirectional, focusing on how turnover affects organizational performance. Only a few scholars have investigated the possible reverse relationship between turnover and performance. Aiming to further the research on the feedback effect of organizational performance, this study employed cross‐lagged structural equation models that are especially suitable for modelling the possible reverse relationships between variables. Data were collected from public elementary and middle schools in New York City over a three‐year period. The results consistently show that organizational performance was negatively related to subsequent employee turnover. This research contributes to the development of a more valid and comprehensive understanding of the relationship between employee turnover and organizational performance.
Lu, X., Xu, H., & Wang, W. (2019). Clients’ Help Deservingness, Crowd Situational Stress And Discretionary Decision-making: An Experimental Study Of Regulatory Street-level Bureaucrats In China. International Public Management Journal, 1-26.
Following the publication of Lipsky’s classic study, a large body of literature has explored the determinants of street-level bureaucrats’ discretion. Among these determinants, clients’ help deservingness has been widely studied as a salient factor in service delivery contexts, which may differ from the contexts in which regulatory street-level bureaucrats operate. Another factor, situational stress, has not drawn much attention yet in experimental studies. This article examines the impact of clients’ help deservingness, situational stress, and their interaction effects on street-level bureaucrats’ discretion based on the results of an experimental study conducted in a regulatory context. The experimental subjects were Chengguan officers who are typical Chinese street-level bureaucrats responsible for urban affairs management. Our results suggest that clients’ help deservingness affects discretionary decision making, which is consistent with previous research. Countering conventional thinking, this study found that situational stress alone does not influence Chengguan officers’ discretionary decision making, but it weakens the effect of clients’ help deservingness.
Weijie Wang & Ryan Yeung. (2018). Testing the Effectiveness of “Managing for Results”: Evidence from an Education Policy Innovation in New
York City. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. Advance article.
Abstract: “Managing for results” (MFR) is a performance management system that decentralizes authority to managers in exchange for greater accountability in performance. Although MFR makes much theoretical sense, the evidence of the effectiveness of MFR has not been as conclusive in the public management literature. One problem in the implementation of performance management is that state and local governments focus more on tightening up accountability mechanisms without simultaneously giving public managers more authorities to make changes happen. In education research, the positive impact of accountability systems on student and school outcomes received some empirical support, but high-stake accountability accountability systems also cause problems such as systematic cheating. How would empowering school principals in combination with accountability systems affect school performance remain to be investigated. In this study, we use panel data methods to examine the impact of a particular MFR reform in New York City, the Empowerment Zone (EZ), which focused on providing city public school principals greater autonomy to improve school outcomes. In addition, we use objective measures of both performance management and organizational performance. Our differences-in-differences estimates suggest that the EZ had a significant and positive effect on school performance as measured by proficiency rates in standardized mathematics exams, overall performance, and Regents diploma graduation rates, though the effects were not immediately apparent.
Sun, Rusi & Weijie Wang. (2017). Transformational leadership, employee turnover intention, and actual voluntary turnover in public organizations. Public Management Review. 19 (8), 1124-1141
Abstract: A large body of research has suggested that leadership effectiveness is related to employees commitment to their organizations and their turnover behaviors. For example, Grissom (2011) shows that school leadership is related to teacher retention in public schools. Good principals keep teachers in disadvantaged schools. However, little is known about what types of leadership is related to teacher turnover. This research focuses on the impacts of school principals' transformational leadership, which comprised of idealized influence, inspiration, individual consideration, and intellectual stimulation. Using structural equation modeling, our results suggest that principals' transformational leadership is negatively related to both teacher turnover intention and actual turnover. This research also contributes to the broader turnover research by showing that turnover intention is a valid preditor of turnover behaviors.
Weijie Wang, Hui Li, & Terry Cooper. (2017) . Civic Engagement and Citizenship Development: The Case of Homeowners’ Participation in
Neighborhood Affairs. Administration & Society. 49 (6), 827-851
Abstract: This article investigates the behavioral consequences of homeowners’ participation in neighborhood affairs in Beijing, China. The research is based on semistructured interviews with homeowner leaders, property managers, and government officials. Participation fosters ethical citizenship by helping homeowners to acquire democratic skills, increase their awareness of property and political rights, and cultivate a sense of community. The development of ethical citizenship motivates homeowners to redefine legal citizenship. Homeowners have begun to take their rights seriously and actively participate in grassroots elections. The interaction between ethical and legal citizenship may carry important implications for future political development in China.
Fanhua Qi & Weijie Wang. (2016). Employee involvement, public service motivation, and perceived organizational performance: Testing a new
model. International Review of Administrative Sciences. DOI: 10.1177/0020852316662531 (PDF download)
Weijie Wang. (2016). Exploring the Determinants of Networks Effectiveness: The Case of Neighborhood Governance Networks in Beijing.
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. 26(2), 375-388 (PDF download)
Weijie Wang & Xingkun Yang. (2015). Does informal participation increase job satisfaction in public organizations? A study on civil servants in
Beijing, China. Public Personnel Management. 44(3), 356-374.
Xingkun Yang & Weijie Wang. (2013). Exploring the Determinants of Job Satisfaction of Civil Servants in Beijing, China. Public Personnel
Management, 42(4), 566-587.
Book chapter
Weijie Wang. (2012). The Decline of Social Capital in Urban China. In Yeakey, C. (Ed.) Living on the Boundaries: Urban Marginality in National and
International Contexts. Bristol, England: Emerald Inc. (PDF download)
Policy report
Marlon Boarnet, Doug Houston, Andy Hong, Jeongwoo Lee, Xize Wang, Weijie Wang, & Steven Spears. (2013). The Exposition Light Rail Line
Study: A Before-and-After Study of the Impact of New Light Rail Transit Service. Prepared for: The Haynes Foundation.