Path‐Dependent Public Servants: Comparing the Influence of Traditions on Administrative Behavior in Developing Asia

Abstract

This article compares the motivations and attitudes of public servants in Kazakhstan (n = 627) and Pakistan (n = 207) by analyzing quantitative and qualitative survey data. A comparison of these two developing Asian countries with distinct administrative traditions and path dependencies contributes to the public administration literature on developing countries. This literature often treats public servants in developing countries as a single category, with little contextualization of findings. This study finds that despite an overlap in Islamic societal values, public servants’ motivations and attitudes differ: lower prosocial proclivity and more aspiration for money in Kazakhstan may be partly explained by the Soviet administrative tradition, while prosocial propensity and lower concern with pay in Pakistan may be attributed to the South Asian tradition. The authors conclude that historical legacies help explain cross‐country differences in employee motivation and attitudes. The findings also improve our knowledge about the potential of reforms within the examined conditions.

Through the Editor's Lens: Understanding the Editorial Role Through Metaphor

“…Mohr, Raudla, and Douglas (2021) examine cost‐accounting perceptions in 19 European countries, looking particularly for differences across three factors: administrative traditions, new public management (NPM) instruments, and fiscal stress. Van der Wal, Mussagulova, and Chen (2021) compare the motivations and attitudes of public servants in two Asian countries, suggesting that contextual differences must be taken into account. To that end, historical legacies across nations can help explain differences in employee motivation and attitudes.…”

Softening Performance's Pitfalls by Integrating Context and Capacity: A Government Competitiveness Framework

“…Public management research has also examined the relevance of administrative tradition as a course of context (Jensen, Sum, and Flynn 2009; Pollitt and Bouckaert 2015; Van der Wal, Mussagulova, and Chen 2021; Welch and Wong 1998). A common approach to studying the interplay between performance management regimes and context is through a lens of public values (Brown, Potoski, and Van Slyke 2006; Van der Wal and Mussagulova 2020).…”

Comparative Public Administration in a Globalized World: Moving Beyond Standard Assumptions Toward Increased Understanding

“…Sometimes, comparisons are rather superficial and anecdotal and, thus, too easily dismissed (“the context is just too different”), hampering mutual learning and understanding and improving administrative structures and practices (cf. Van der Wal, Mussagulova, and Chen 2021).…”

“…The first perspective emphasizes cross‐regional divergence as it suggests that public servants in various hemispheres hold divergent sets of values and attitudes engrained in their respective traditions. In this oft‐oversimplified view, the developing world's traditions are characterized by a collectivist approach, top–down power structure, loyalty, subordination, and patronage, whereas the ‘Western’ tradition is claimed to be based on rule of law, political neutrality, bureaucratic autonomy, and detached ‘managerial’ professionalism (Van der Wal, Mussagulova, and Chen 2021; Van der Wal and Yang 2015).…”