Table of Content

17 July 2023, Volume 12 Issue 4

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How did Successful Reforms Work?Qualitative Comparative Analysis based on China's Historical Reforms#br#

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XU Guochong PAN Linglong

2023, 12(4):  4. 

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Analyzing China's historical reforms has had a great impact on the comprehensive deepening of reforms. This article constructs a comprehensive analysis framework based on the subject theory, geography theory, change theory and system theory, and reinterprets the influencing factors of the 14 reforms in history. The results of fsQCA show that a single condition fails to fully explain the success or failure of the reform. It is a combined function of the six conditions: “initial conditions”, “external environment”, “reform subjects”, “reform measures”, “institutional innovation” and “process requirements”. There are 5 configurations for successful reforms, which can be refined into an efficient execution mode and a centralized breakthrough mode, indicating that higher process requirements and strong main power are the core conditions. There are three configurations of failed reforms, which are simplified into a weak execution mode and a weak reform mode according to the strength of the "process requirements". The common point is that the reform subject is weak and the execution power is weak. Based on this, five theoretical propositions are derived: the interaction and coupling of multiple factors leads to successful reforms; reforms with strong subjects are easy to succeed; reform measures, process requirements and innovation strengths complement each other; reforms present historical cycles, and reforms in the early dynasty are easy to succeed; the lack of core conditions caused the reform to fail. Research has revealed that successful reforms must break through historical constraints with institutional innovation, follow a reasonable path, and avoid risks in a timely manner. This research attempts to bring history back to the perspective of public management, and to study the reform stories in our country's history, in order to construct a Chinese-style governance knowledge system.

From Gentry to New Rural Gentry: Inheritance and Evolution of Rural Elite Governance: Based on the Case Study of rural Governance in Shangyu Zhejiang Provinc since the Late Qing Dynasty

LIU Kaijun

2023, 12(4):  20. 

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At present, the participation of New Rural Gentry in rural governance is not a simple return to the traditional, but it also contains a lot of historical and cultural genes. However, the theoretical research on “Who is governing?” and “How to govern?” In rural society shows the characteristic of  “Time division”. In this paper, the elite theory is used as an analytical tool, focusing on the inheritance and evolution of rural elite governance, based on the basis of rural elite's acquisition of dominant ability, mode, role and function, main characteristics and other factors, at the same time, two key variables, “Folk identity” and“Time dimension”, are selected to construct four kinds of rural elites: “Confucian type”, “Resource type”, “Integrative type” and“Fusion Type”, a historical study of rural social governance in China from the late Qing dynasty to the late Qing dynasty is made by means of the combination of grand narration and case analysis, “Subject analysis” and “Rule analysis”, it provides a unified concept and a complete logical chain for investigating the changes of rural social governance in China over the past hundred years.

The Implication of the Concept of Governance in Imperial China and Its Modern Enlightenment: Taking "History as a Mirror" and "Continued Mirror" as the Centre of Investigation

LUO Xuefei

2023, 12(4):  32. 

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Governance was the issue of common concern both of the monarchs and scholar-bureaucrats during imperial China era , was also the essential question in the history of Chinese political thought. "History as a Mirror" and "Continued Mirror" as records of the experiences and lessons from the governance practices of the monarchs and scholar-bureaucrats were full of concern about governance,  which mainly includes five aspects: governing by doing nothing that goes against nature, implementing benevolent government, being in awe and willing to listen to others' opinions, selecting and appointing talents to govern the people, and eliminating those who or what did the most harm. Through the analyses, we can find out that this concept of governance had three characteristics: elitism of the subject, benevolent government of the purpose and clarification of the carrier. The enlightenment of this concept of governance to modern Chinese politics mainly includes five aspects: strengthening system construction, promoting elite self-discipline, putting the people first, expanding people's orderly political participation, and leading instrumental rationality with value rationality.

Policy Reproduction of the Internet Plus Government Services Initiative and its Influencing Factors：An Empirical Research Based on Machine Learning and Qualitative Comparative Analysis

WANG Fashuo, ZHANG Jialing

2023, 12(4):  47. 

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The Internet Plus Government Services（IPGS）initiative is an important step for deepening the reforms to streamline administration and delegate powers， improve regulation， and upgrade services. The adjustment and update of the relevant policies of the central government in the formulation of the IPGS initiative policy is the policy reproduction. Local governments’ reproduction of the central IPGS initiative policy content has an important impact on the development of the IPGS initiative， but existing studies have not paid enough attention to this. Based on machine learning method， Doc2vec model was constructed to carry out quantitative calculation on the reproduction of the IPGS initiative policy content of Provincial governments in China. The research finds that there are some differences in the reproduction degree of the IPGS initiative policy content of provincial governments， and there is a strong correlation between the reproduction of policy content and the development level of the Government online service capabilities. The influence mechanism of the IPGS initiative policy reproduction is further investigated by qualitative comparative analysis of fuzzy set. The research shows that the leadership’s attention and marketization degree are the necessary conditions to influence the reproduction of provincial government’s policy content. The configuration analysis identified three path combinations of “enabling organization”， “developing consensus” and “riding the momentum” to achieve a higher degree of the IPGS initiative policy reproduction. This paper deepens the understanding of the logic of policy making in the operation of Chinese government， and has certain enlightenment significance for the formulation and introduction of targeted local IPGS initiative policies.

The Different Impacts of Leadership Style on Public Service Motivation in the Public Sector: A Test of Meta-analysis

GUO Shenghao, GUO Junhao

2023, 12(4):  61. 

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Traditional empirical methods have not reached a consensus on the relationship between leadership style and public service motivation in the public sector. This study used meta-analytic techniques to analyze domestic and international empirical studies on this relationship and obtained 95 effect sizes with a total sample size of 381,698. The results showed that servant leadership has the greatest effect on public service motivation among public employees in the public sector, followed by ethical leadership, transformational leadership, and transactional leadership in decreasing order. Data collection strategy was found to be a factor that interfered with the estimated relationship between leadership style and public service motivation, although this was not universal. Estimates of this relationship also varied across cultural backgrounds. However, the current variation in public service motivation scales did not significantly affect the estimates of the relationship between leadership style and public service motivation. Similarly, the source of the MPA student sample did not significantly affect these estimates.

How does Public Service Motivation Affect Change-oriented Organizational Citizen Behavior? The Mediating Role of Job Crafting and Moderating Role Transformational Leadership

LIN Yaqing, LAN Pucheng

2023, 12(4):  80. 

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It is an important part of building a high-quality cadre team in the new era to effectively motivate civil servants to be brave in reform and innovation and to take responsibility. Based on the resource conservation theory, the study empirically examines the influence mechanism and boundary conditions of public service motivation affecting change-oriented organizational citizen behavior (COOCB), taking 209 civil servants in Fujian Province as samples through a two-stage questionnaire. The results show that public service motivation of civil servants significantly enhances their COOCB. Job crafting, as a resource-building strategy, plays a full mediating role in the above relationship. Transformational leadership plays the role of “resource caravan passageways” and positively moderates the mediating effect of job crafting. Specifically, in the context of high transformational leadership, the mediating effect of public service motivation on COOCB through job crafting is significantly enhanced, while in the context of low transformational leadership, the mediating effect is not significant. The study expands and deepens the relevant literature on the public service motivation and COOCB of civil servants, provides enlightenment for the application of resource conservation theory in the public sector, and also gives important reference value for promoting the scientific management of cadres under the background of the new era.

Does Educational Attainment Differentiate Social Integration Path of Migrant Population? #br# --An Empirical Analysis Based on Multi-group Structural Equation Model#br#

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ZHANG Lizheng, WANG Jiejing

2023, 12(4):  97. 

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The social integration of migrant population has received considerable attention from scholars, but previous studies have lacked empirical research on the interplay between the different dimensions of social integration. As a result, it is difficult to provide a comprehensive understanding of the differences in integration paths among various groups. Building on prior research, this paper divides social integration into four dimensions: economic integration, behavioral adaptation, psychological integration, and local identity.  Using the sample of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen derived from the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey, and employing a multi-group structural equation model, this paper explores the similarities and differences in the integration paths of different educational groups within the migrant population. The results indicate that the group with a junior high school education or below exhibits three integration paths: "economic integration - psychological integration - local identity," "behavioral adaptation - psychological integration - local identity," and "behavioral adaptation - local identity." The group with a high school or technical secondary school education follows a similar pattern, but behavioral adaptation does not directly improve local identity. The group with a college degree or above demonstrates four paths: "economic integration - local identity," "economic integration - behavioral adaptation - psychological integration - local identity," "economic integration - psychological integration - local identity," and "behavioral adaptation - psychological integration - local identity." These findings highlight that differences among migrant population groups are a crucial factor affecting their social integration paths, and they should be considered in the formulation of citizenization policies.

The Impact of Regulatory Capture on Environmental Regulation？--A Mixed-methods Study

HE Bin

2023, 12(4):  113. 

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How to explain the avoid responsibility phenomenon of street bureaucrats in regulatory environment : "The less they do, the less likely they are to make mistakes"? Deterrence theory holds that certainty and severity are two paths for supervision, and capture can reduce policy effect by adjusting both strategies. To clarify how capture affects regulatory performance, this paper constructs a "risk-behavior" analysis framework and utilizes environmental governance data for empirical testing. This paper uses the dynamic panel data to determine causality, and the study found that the degree of capture only has a weakened regulatory effect on the severity of the impact, while certainty no longer has the policy effect of reducing pollution. In order to clarify the mechanism of causality, this article uses the “theoretical least-likely case” for its supplementary analysis. In the case the level of capture is low, after being caught, law enforcement officials will prioritize to control certainty. Thus, certainty becomes invalid. As the degree of capture increases, this preference would become more apparent. Perception of risk is the core factor that determines the behavior of both parties of the capture. To maintain the stability of the transaction structure, when enterprises choose to reduce risks by reducing emissions, severity is still an effective regulatory tool. When enterprises choose to reduce risks by increasing the level of capture, severity no longer works. This paper demonstrates the mechanism of how capture makes heavy pollution control ineffective and its consequences. It provides theoretical guidance for improving the efficiency of environmental supervision, especially improving the efficiency of environmental inspectors.

Creation of Localized Concepts in Rural Governance Research: Problems and Reflections

FAN Fan, CHEN Yi

2023, 12(4):  129. 

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As a premise and an approach of localization of rural governance research，concept creation， if made inappropriately，will inevitably affect related concepts，theories and doctrines in this domain. This article， based on the world outlook and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism，as well as the fundamental position of Marxist political economy of “adhering to the people-centered philosophy”， investigates and reflects on the current situation of the localized concepts in the study of rural governance， examining that there are generally three key problems in the research field. First，a simple application of the “state-society” binary analysis paradigm derived from the experience of some Western countries cannot truly meet China’s reality; second，the research field has been continuously narrowed，and the construction of national character behind rural governance has not received sufficient attention due to the insistence of researchers’ dualistic thinking framework of “localness” and “stateness” and the excessive assertion of “localness” in rural society; third，a certain degree of de-publicity tendency is rising as a result of researchers’ insensitivity to the public values. The paper finds that the ignorance of the world outlook and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism as well as the downplaying of the fundamental position of Marxist political economy “adhering to people-centeredness” are the root causes of these problems. Thus，focusing on eliminating these research inappropriateness is the premise and foundation for the healthy development of the localization of rural governance research in the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The Abuse of Private Power on Social Platforms and Its Governance

YAN Yuchen

2023, 12(4):  142. 

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Based on the rapid development of big data and artificial intelligence algorithm technology, the strength and status of the platform have been significantly enhanced. The platform that controls the power of algorithms can influence the decision-making behavior of a variety of social actors. At the same time, algorithms have created a new type of power-platform private power. In recent years, the continuous expansion of platform private power has brought many adverse effects on the social structure and social order. However, the traditional platform supervision system has not been adjusted in a timely manner, and the risk of abuse of platform private power has increased significantly. In the field of communication, the problem of abuse of private power on social platforms has begun to become prominent. A correct understanding of the real hazards of the abuse of private power on social platforms, and timely prevention and resolution of the negative social impacts brought about by it, will appear to be particularly important in promoting the modernization of the national governance system in the future. A new platform governance model of "government-individual-social forces" trinity should be established to avoid the ills of platform supervision caused by the government's post-accountability.It can also alleviate the difficulties of users' rights protection in the confrontation with the platform and promote other social forces participate in platform governance together.

Q Method: Intrinsic Tension and Development Limits from the Methodological Perspective

ZANG Leizhen, CHEN Tengxiao

2023, 12(4):  154. 

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The Q method is a qualitative-led mixed method to measure the attitudes, motivations, perceptions, beliefs, preferences of actors. Its essence is to promote the mutual complementation and support of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Policy analysis and public administration research involves a wide range of subjective attitude analysis of research objects, but Q methods still receive limited academic attention within the field of policy analysis and public administration. Based on the scoping review, this paper retrieves and selects 48 Q method applied literatures in the field of policy analysis and public administration from the "Web of Science Core Collection (WoS)" database under the given policy and practice background, and reviews the results. The review mainly covers the reasons why authors chose to use Q method, issue selection, generation of Q sets, selection of subjects, implementation of Q ranking, quantitative analysis and factor generation, qualitative interpretation of results, etc. It is found that the Q method in the discussion of socially controversial issues, has great potential of theoretical and practical value. However, researchers' unfamiliarity with the operational steps of the methodology, the non-standard operation steps of the methodology by the researchers and the limitations of the methodology itself have brought certain constraints to the development of the Q method.