The necessity of discretion: A behavioral evaluation of bottom-up implementation theory
Thomann, E; van Engen, N; Tummers, LG
Date: 3 July 2018
Journal
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP) for Public Management Research Association
Publisher DOI
Abstract
The topic of discretion continues to be hotly debated in policy design and policy
implementation. In top-down theories, discretion at the frontline is often seen as a control
problem: discretion should be avoided as it can mean that the policy is not implemented as
intended. Conversely, bottom-up theories state that discretion can ...
The topic of discretion continues to be hotly debated in policy design and policy
implementation. In top-down theories, discretion at the frontline is often seen as a control
problem: discretion should be avoided as it can mean that the policy is not implemented as
intended. Conversely, bottom-up theories state that discretion can help policy implementers
tailor a policy to specific circumstances. However, there has been little systematic research into
how the experience of having discretion motivates frontline workers to implement a policy. We
conceptualize and test this relationship by combining public administration and motivation
literature, using datasets in healthcare and education and large-N set-theoretic configurational
analysis. Results robustly show that experiencing discretion is a quasi-necessary condition and,
hence, a prerequisite for high implementation willingness. This finding is more in line with
bottom-up than with top-down theories. Policy implementers crucially need the freedom to
adapt the program to local conditions for being motivated to implement a policy. The evidence
encourages scholars and practitioners to move from the question whether frontline workers
should be granted discretion to how to best make use of frontline workers’ discretion instead.
Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Anthropology
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
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