Street-Level Workers as Institutional Entrepreneurs: Agents of Change in the Implementation of Public Policy

Introducing the institutional logics perspective to street-level analysis, this book examines how street-level workers deal with the institutional logics that guide their organization – whether they follow or challenge them. While doing so, the book develops a theoretical framework to study street-level workers’ institutional agency within organizations from different institutional backgrounds. The book conceptualizes street-level workers as institutional entrepreneurs and presents an original process model to capture deinstitutionalization efforts in street-level discourse. This ordinal model accounts for embedded agency and institutional entrepreneurship as well as for more gradual moves towards deinstitutionalization through the hybridization of institutional logics. The author tests the model empirically using interview data and discusses how street-level workers diverge from the institutional logic of their organization in almost two thirds of their statements, indicating a tendency towards institutional entrepreneurship. The book finally combines two literature strands: institutionalism and implementation research, showing how street-level workers may be perceived as institutional entrepreneurs. This book will appeal to students, scholars, and researchers of political science, public policy, public administration, and organizational studies, as well as to practitioners and policy-makers interested in a better understanding of institutional entrepreneurs, street work, and the institutional logics perspective. Acknowledgment Contents List of Figures List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction: Can Street-Level Workers Be Institutional Entrepreneurs? 1.1 Research Gap and Research Question 1.2 Central Findings 1.3 Contributions 1.4 Structure of the Thesis Chapter 2: Conceptualizing Street-Level Workers as Institutional Entrepreneurs 2.1 Discretion and Divergence at the Street Level 2.1.1 From Discretion to Divergence 2.1.2 From Divergence to Entrepreneurship 2.2 Research Gap: Street-Level Workers as Institutional Entrepreneurs 2.3 A New Concept: Discursive Institutional Entrepreneurship 2.4 Analytical Perspective of the Book: A Micro-level Approach 2.5 Conclusion Chapter 3: Institutional Logics as an Approach to Embedded Versus Free Agency 3.1 The Institutional Logics Approach 3.2 Institutional Logics and Organizations 3.2.1 Institutional Logics of Bureaucracies 3.2.2 Institutional Logics of Religious Organizations 3.2.3 Institutional Logics of Civil Society Organizations 3.2.4 Institutional Logics of the Profession (Nonorganizational) 3.3 Institutional Logics at the Individual (Street) Level: Agency and Structure 3.3.1 Determinist Perspective: Embedded Agency 3.3.2 Empirical Evidence for Embedded Agency 3.3.3 Voluntarist Perspective: Free Agency 3.3.3.1 Explaining Free Agency: Cognitive Dissonance 3.4 Conclusion Chapter 4: Morality Policy as a Most Likely Case for Institutional Entrepreneurship 4.1 A Corporate Welfare State: The Case of Germany 4.1.1 Religious Organizations 4.1.2 Civil Society Organization 4.1.3 Bureaucracies 4.2 Morality Policy as Most Likely Case 4.2.1 Abortion 4.2.2 Prostitution 4.2.3 Repatriation 4.3 Social Workers: Implementation by Counseling 4.4 Conclusion Chapter 5: Capturing Institutional Entrepreneurship in Discourse: A Qualitative Approach 5.1 Exploring the Field: Observation 5.2 Main Data Collection: Interviews 5.3 Data Preparation: Coding of Interview Material 5.4 Data Analysis: Three Case Study Approaches 5.5 Conclusion Chapter 6: Three Case Studies on Street-Level Agency in Institutional Contexts 6.1 Analysis, Part 1: The Difference Between Talk and Action 6.1.1 Conclusion 6.2 What Discourse Tells Us About Street-Level Institutional Agency 6.2.1 Analysis, Part 2: Prototypes of Street-Level Workers ́ Institutional Agency 6.2.1.1 Legalist Agent 6.2.1.2 Care Agent 6.2.1.3 Advocacy Agent 6.2.1.4 Professional Agent 6.2.1.5 Conclusion 6.2.2 Analysis, Part 3: Institutional Entrepreneurship at the Street Level 6.2.2.1 Reproducing Institutional Logics 6.2.2.2 Layering Institutional Logics 6.2.2.3 Blending Institutional Logics 6.2.2.4 Reframing Institutional Logics 6.2.2.5 Replacing Institutional Logics 6.2.2.6 Conclusion 6.3 Discussion: How Do These Findings Connect to Previous Research? Chapter 7: Conclusion 7.1 Answers to the Research Questions 7.2 Limitations 7.3 Future Research Appendices Appendix A List of Interview Partners Appendix B General Interview Questions Appendix C Sample Variability in Individual Factors Appendix D Codebook Appendix E Street-Level Workers ́ Expressions of Dissonant Cognitions References This book explores the feasibility of using El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-based forecasts and early warning systems to prevent losses from floods and droughts in Bangladesh. Despite advances in short-range flood forecasting and information dissemination systems in Bangladesh, the present system is less than satisfactory. This is due to short lead-time products, outdated dissemination networks, and lack of direct feedback from the end-user. One viable solution is to produce long-lead seasonal forecasts—the demand for which is significantly increasing in Bangladesh— and disseminate these products through appropriate channels. As observed in other regions, the success of seasonal forecasts, in contrast to short-term forecasts, depends on consensus among the participating institutions. Therefore, the primary objective of the book is to revisit and modify the framework of an ideal warning response system for issuance of consensus seasonal flood forecasts in Bangladesh. The book discusses issues related to the 5-stage Flood Forecasts, Warning, and Response System (FFWRS) and emphasizes the role of the seasonal ‘Climate Outlook Forum (COF)'in Bangladesh. The book also identifies ways to improve forecasting and early warning systems by utilizing ENSO-based climate data and models, and discusses a comprehensive and participatory approach to seasonal flood hazard management in Bangladesh.Several successful case examples of ENSO-based seasonal forecasts and early warning systems from other ENSO-sensitive regions have been documented. The primary audience includes academics and students, government policymakers, engineers, and business leaders.