It's about time! Temporal dynamics and longitudinal research designs in public administration

Abstract

Many of the fundamental research questions in public administration relate to individual‐ or organization‐level temporal dynamics, including the impact of public sector reforms, (in)stability of public policies and organizations, development of public service motivation, or the workplace socialization of public employees. However, theoretical, methodological, and empirical public administration scholarship continues to take time and temporal dynamics insufficiently seriously. This constitutes a major shortcoming within the profession and implies that we are yet to unlock the transformative potential of longitudinal research. Building on the recent development of novel research infrastructures that can support the study of temporal dynamics of—and within—public organizations, this Symposium pushes for a “longitudinal turn” in the study of public administration. We maintain that more concerted efforts to apply a temporal lens to our research endeavors are critical to theorize, empirically assess, and understand public administrations as well as the bureaucrats employed within them.

The Hierarchical Configurations of Policy Networks: A Study of Decision-Making Processes in Urban Transport

“…Second, this is demonstrated by offering a longitudinal case study of decision-making behavior in urban transport policy networks in Norway, in which the decision-making process occurred in two specific phases. Responding to the lack of longitudinal designs in the public administration and network literatures (Isett et al, 2010;Murdoch et al, 2023), this study shows how actor behavior in networks evolves over time.…”