The Demise of an Agency Director – A Puzzling Saga of Political Control and Professional Autonomy.
Forfatter
Christensen, Tom; Lægreid, Per
Årstall
2020
Utgiver
Routledge
Publikasjonstype:
Tidsskriftsartikkel
Omtale:
https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2019.1707224
Kommentar:
Tidsskrift
International Journal of Public Administration
Antall sider:
13
ISSN-nummer:
0190-0692
Publiseringsspråk:
Engelsk
Land publikasjonen kommer fra:
Norge
NSD-referanse:
4708
Disse opplysningene er sist endret:
2021-09-01 09:24:20.397
Sammendrag
This article aims at addressing the relationship between expertise and politics by examining a reorganization process of Statistics Norway. The puzzle is why a minor reorganization with low political salience, in a consensus-oriented political administrative setting with high level of trust between ministries and agencies, and high autonomy for agencies ended up as a major conflict resulting in the resignation of the agency director. Based on an instrumental, a cultural and a symbolic perspective the article examines the internal and external dynamics ensuing from conflicting views regarding the balance between political control and professional autonomy, and from reorganization proposals that represented a break with the cultural path the organization had followed. It adds insights into the tensions between different types of institutional logics, resulting in institutional hybridity.