What Causes the Death of Public Sector Organizations? Understanding Structural Changes and Continuities in Korean Quangos

Abstract

This study explores the determinants of structural changes and continuities of public sector organizations in Korea using longitudinal data. Focusing on the political costs of termination, we examine external and internal factors that are closely linked to the political incentives to terminate quangos. This article primarily addresses the following question: What determines the termination of public sector organizations? The model suggests that survivability of public sector organizations largely depends on external factors such as political, institutional, and social changes. Specifically, quangos are more likely to be terminated during political turnovers and the period when presidential power is maximized. Termination seems easier for politicians when social demands are mature enough to blow away political burdens and cynicism. Although organizations with fewer resources are more vulnerable to external pressures and shocks, none of the quango-specific factors significantly affect the survivability of Korean quangos.

Coming to Terms with Termination of Public Organizations

“…Due to the short term cost of organizational termination, such decisions would be unfavorable in times of fiscal constraints and budgetary austerity (Carpenter and Lewis 2004: 222). Park (2013) tested this claim but found no significant effects.…”

“…Third, existing research on survival in the public sector does take into account how the odds of termination are affected by political and economic indicators (Lewis 2002(Lewis , 2004Boin et al 2010;Park 2013;James et al 2015). These studies hypothesize that a conservative political climate leads to slimming the public sector, and that turnover in general is likely to affect survival of organizations in a negative way because incoming elects will probably attack the creations of their predecessors.…”

“…Their findings have a different base and as such they do not add up in a meta-analysis. Park (2013) follows Carroll and Delacroix (1982: 170) in that she only considers after a merger Bthe resulting organization as new and the two merger partners as dead^. She adopts a termination definition that includes merging and splitting, plus shifting to the private sector, in line with Boin et al (2010).…”

“…Starting with Herbert Kaufman's seminal Are Government Organizations Immortal? (1976), scholars on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond studied the transformation of government-including the survival of public organizations Hogwood 1988, 1991;Lewis 2002Lewis , 2004Carpenter and Lewis 2004;Adam et al 2007;Boin et al 2010Boin et al , 2016Rolland and Roness 2011;Park 2013;MacCarthaigh 2014;James et al 2015).…”

Frå stabilitet til turbulens. 70 år med organisasjonsendringar i departementa – politisk design eller institusjonell tilpasning?

“…Politikken har tilsynelatande ikkje hatt nokon saerleg innverknad på korleis det sentrale forvaltningsapparatet er blitt strukturert. Dette har gitt opphavet til ein ganske omfattande litteratur om etablering, overleving og død av offentlege organisasjonar basert på lange tidsseriar om organisasjonsendring i sentraladministrasjonen i ulike land (MacCarthaigh og Park 2013).…”