Politics of governing NPM-led agencies in Pakistan: influence of contextual factors on agency autonomy and control

Abstract

PurposeThis article aims to empirically investigate the influence of socio-cultural and political factors and actors on the perceived autonomy and control of state agencies in Pakistan. Taking an institutional perspective, which envisages a diverse course of agency reforms, owed to varied national cultures, historical paths and traditional mindsets, the authors argue that the institutional theory provides an explanation to the autonomy and control status of the agencies.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 39 senior public officials and governing board members in federal agencies by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was performed using NVivo-12 for data analysis.FindingsThe results disclose that the agencies operate within an overriding politico-administrative culture of intervention and supremacy of the central government. There is a close relationship between the political actors and actors' implementing agents, the bureaucrats. Although the disaggregated public agencies are created under the agency model, a culture of political influence and control still prevails within them. Among the socio-cultural factors, corruption is reported as a critical influencing factor for agency autonomy.Research limitations/implicationsThe study emphasizes the need to adapt and modify agencification practices in developing countries based on the political, socio-cultural and administrative contextual factors and actors and the varying degrees of influence the practices exercise over the Government machinery.Originality/valueThis study unveils the implications of the new public management (NPM)-led agency model in Pakistan, which was primarily adopted as a part of the structural adjustment program (SAP) under loan conditionality from international donor agencies and explores the indigenous doctrines that govern agencies functioning under ministries.

Hybrid organisational form as a response to institutional complexity: The case of local municipally owned corporations in Lahore

“…Weberian model of bureaucracy that is predominantly characterized by values such as equity, professionalism, public interest, procedural safeguards, acceptance of authority, impartiality, and neutrality (Khan & Hussain, 2009). In Pakistan, like in other developing countries, corruption, lack of accountability, political sovereignty over bureaucracy, and political interference lead to a distracting picture of a governance system where rule of law and judiciary are at the whim of institutional actors (Rizwan, Salman, & Naveed, 2022). Therefore, some reform measures like NPM and post-NPM were introduced to curb the societal and institutional weaknesses and to develop a more integrated and accountable governance mechanism.…”

“…This study specifically explains the corporatization of local public organizations in Pakistan which presents an interesting case of investigation for two major reasons. Firstly, in Pakistan, the traditional hierarchical model of governance and management is the dominant paradigm despite multiple reform attempts at all levels of government (Rizwan, et al, 2022). Therefore, it is imperative to discuss the autonomy of those arm-length bodies established under the new public management paradigm.…”