No abstract

According to public management literature, trust has a positive influence on behaviour. Why, then, do street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) appear to favour clients whom they do not trust, and give less attention to those they do trust? Do organizational conditions play a role in this dynamic? We investigate these issues as they affect Israeli social services providers. Our study improves our understanding of trust as a factor in public service delivery. When SLBs operate in an unsupportive environment, they prioritize clients whom they distrust, bending or breaking rules for them, yet ration services to clients whom they trust.

How do different types of social service providers experience and respond to violent clients? The street‐level social service environment is a fertile ground for manifestations of violence by dissatisfied clients. This study examines the violence, verbal, and physical, to which street‐level bureaucrats are exposed, and the different coping strategies they adopt. We explore these issues using interviews with 71 Israeli social service providers. Our results indicate that while some street‐level bureaucrats are tolerant of client violence, others refuse to accept it. The former weigh their words, express empathy and seek to satisfy demands. The latter recruit the support of additional players and server relationships.

Trust is the “glue” connecting state and society and particularly relevant to how front‐line workers, who are the face of public administration vis‐à‐vis citizens, implement policy. Therefore, it is important to examine how front‐line workers' absence of trust in regulators influences the ways they cope with their clients. Our study investigates this question empirically through interviews and focus groups with 80 Israeli social service providers. Our results show that front‐line workers' distrust in regulators is a product of four factors: perceived lack of protection, clash of values, politicization in implementation processes, and regulators' “disconnection” from the field. It leads them to adopt two coping strategies: acts of self‐protection and deviation from formal policy. A further derivative is their turnover intention.

The study explores whether elected officials’ involvement in the way street-level bureaucrats implement policy affects social equity. This question is addressed empirically through interviews and focus groups with 84 Israeli educators and social workers. Findings indicate that elected officials involve themselves directly and indirectly in street-level bureaucrats’ policy implementation and their involvement reduces social equity in the provision of services. The study contributes to the literature on policy implementation by enabling a deeper understanding of the factors that shape the decision-making process of street-level bureaucrats when providing services and their ultimate impact on policy outcomes.