Compliance with COVID-19 measures: A comparative study of street-level managers in Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Israel

Ege, Jörn Marius; Gofen, Anat; Hadorn, Susanne; Hakman, Inbal; Malandrino, Anna; Ramseier, Leroy James Amyas; Sager, Fritz (8 September 2022). Compliance with COVID-19 measures: A comparative study of street-level managers in Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Israel (Unpublished). In: EGPA 2022 Conference. Lissabon. 06.-09.09.2022.

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Responsible for the direct-delivery of public services, street-level organizations (SLOs) serve as the operational arm of the state in general, and as the frontline of governmental efforts during times of crisis. Street-level managers (SLMs), who occupy the sole, top managerial tier in SLOs are under-studied not only during crises but also in routine, although exerting immediate significant influence on the daily life of local publics. To better understand on-the-ground policy efforts during the pandemic, this study focuses on SLMs’ compliance in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Israel. Data comprises 399 “compliance stories” gathered from interviews with SLMs in nurseries, schools, health and welfare offices, police stations as well as care homes. Standardized coding of the stories identified different levels of (non)compliance as well as the prominent explanatory variables that shape (non)compliance. Three influences emerged as the main compliance barriers, that is, lack of resources, relationship with the local public, and perception of the measure's effectiveness. Emphasizing that SLMs often act as local policy entrepreneurs who use their discretion to solve problems and serve their local public, findings further demonstrate the key role of SLMs in shaping the face of government for the public.

Item Type:

Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Division/Institute:

11 Centers of Competence > KPM Center for Public Management

UniBE Contributor:

Ege, Jörn Marius, Hadorn, Susanne (A), Malandrino, Anna, Ramseier, Leroy James Amyas, Sager, Fritz

Subjects:

300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 320 Political science
300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 350 Public administration & military science

Funders:

[4] Swiss National Science Foundation

Projects:

[UNSPECIFIED] Compliance With National COVID-19 responses and measures (CoWiNaCo)

Language:

English

Submitter:

Susanne Hadorn

Date Deposited:

24 Mar 2023 09:18

Last Modified:

29 Mar 2023 23:38

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/179582

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/179582

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