Central European Public Administration Review (E-Journal)
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Does Context Matter? Governance Models in Local Administration
Full text linkPurpose: Over the past decades, public administration scholars and practitioners around the world have experimented with various administrative reforms to design governance models suitable to fulfil the tasks of public administration. Amidst this ongoing debate, (at least) three different and competing governance models can be distinguished: New Public Management, New Public Governance, and the (Neo-)Weberian model. Despite each of these models claiming universal legitimacy, specific administrative branches in different administrative systems operate in unique contexts and handle varying tasks. The article delves into the question of whether and to what extent different branches of public administration within the same administrative system adopt global public administration ideas in a similar fashion.Design/Methodology/Approach: The article employs a comparative design to analyse the adoption of global public administration concepts across different administrative branches. Given their shared rigid Weberian tradition but divergent tasks and context, the study uses the German financial and social administrations as examples. The findings are derived from a survey of local agencies.Findings: The study reveals a persistent influence of strong Weberian traditions on the structural and operational makeup of both branches, indicating a significant path dependency in governance understanding. The characteristics of New Public Management and New Public Governance are comparatively more prominent in social than in financial administration, which can be attributed to differences in tasks and relations, especially with political actors.Academic contribution to the field: In addition to supplementing existing detailed analyses of the (non-)success of specific public administration reforms, the study takes a comprehensive view of the long-term development of public administration structure and perception, spanning multiple reforms. While acknowledging the formative influence of administrative tradition on the entire public administration system, the focus is on the nuanced effects of administrative traditions on diverse organisations, encouraging future comparative research.Originality/Significance/Value: In addition to the contribution to the field, our comparative methodology and empirical study makeup show the advantages of concentrating on a minimal number of paradigms that can be delineated as clearly as possible, instead of operationalising public administration reforms with a multitude of (potentially country-specific) indicators. With this approach, we lay the groundwork for the extension of the comparative design to other countries and administrative systems.
 
Analysis of Research on Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration:
Full text linkPurpose: This study aims to investigate how analysing academic research through digital tools can improve our understanding of the applications, functions, and challenges related to the use of advanced artificial technologies (AI) in public administration.Methodology: The applied methodology relies on the use of digital tools, specifically Voyant-Tools and Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (GPT-4), for text analysis in conjunction with a selection of scientific literature on artificial intelligence and public administration.Findings: The results of our study show that researchers equally report advantages and disadvantages of using AI in public administration. Moreover, the research highlights the benefits of using artificial intelligence while emphasising the importance of the ethical and appropriate regulation thereof.Practical implications: Our innovative approach of developing and using a combined methodology involving specialised digital tools to analyse scientific literature introduces a new dimension to the examination of scientific texts and has the potential to shape public policy in the field of public administration.Originality: The existing body of research on public administration and artificial intelligence is limited. Our study expands the scientific field by delving into the use of artificial intelligence in public administration
Absence of an Oral Hearing in Administrative Disputes:
Full text linkPurpose: The right to an oral hearing is an essential element of Article 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This is particularly emphasised in administrative procedures where the parties are in a hierarchical relationship. The absence of an oral hearing can significantly limit a party’s right to a fair trial. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the positive law and state of play in the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia regarding the right to an oral hearing. The purpose of this paper is to analyse relevant legislation and case law with the goal of proposing future legislation that better aligns with effective legal protection.Design/Methodology/Approach: Desk research was conducted to analyse current legal solutions and case law using sociological research methods. These involved analysing domestic and international legal texts and reviewing the rules governing national administrative procedures in the countries included in the research, as well as against decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, the research used a combination of primary and secondary data sources.Findings: Administrative courts should prioritise procedural justice and equality of arms, even when there is no clear need for oral hearings, especially if one of the parties requests to appear before the court. To minimise damaging discretion, both parties should consent to relinquishing the right to an oral hearing, which should be mandatory by default.Academic contribution to the field: The primary contribution of this paper lies in its de lege ferenda suggestions regarding the right to an oral hearing, which could potentially enhance the protection of human rights in relation to a fair trial in both administrative disputes and administrative procedures.Originality/Value: This research is original as it presents a comparative analysis of administrative procedure and disputes in selected Member States. To the best of the author’s knowledge, no such comparative study has been conducted before. The findings of this research could have significant value as they highlight the need for improving procedural justice and equality of arms in ensuring a fair trial in administrative disputes.
 
Regulating Public Sector Wages in Times of Inflation and Constitutional Restraints
Full text linkPurpose: The article discusses the impact of public sector wages and inflation on various aspects of a country’s socioeconomic development. Methodology: Using Slovenia as a case study, the article focuses on how inflation impacts collective bargaining and wage regulation in the public sector, as well as the role of constitutional fiscal restraints in collective bargaining in the public sector. The research employs qualitative methods and focuses on patterns in existing documents and empirical case studies, and a comparative method involving Hungary. Findings and Academic contribution to the field: The article examines the impact of inflation on collective bargaining and wage regulation in the public sector. It concludes that inflation, even with (some) constitutional fiscal restraints in place, can affect collective bargaining and wage regulation in the public sector, depending on the bargaining power of unions and employers and specific provisions outlined in collective bargaining agreements and wage regulations
Collaborative Governance in the Digital Transformation Age: A Systematic Literature Review with Bibliometric Mapping
Full text linkPurpose: The article aims to provide an updated and comprehensive overview of academic research in the field of collaborative governance and digital transformation, with an emphasis on the emerging topic of collaborative digital transformation. Digital transformation is a recurrent theme in today’s society, fuelled by events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, global climate challenges, and other crises reshaping the world. As societies increasingly rely on digital platforms and online communication, the prime urge and necessity of the human race – i.e., to communicate and collaborate in tackling these challenges – puts collaborative governance in digital transformation high on the agenda of governments, the private sector, and citizens.Design/Methodology/Approach: To address this topic, we performed a bibliometric analysis using various analytical and visualisation tools to evaluate and visualise existing scientific bibliographic materials. The analysis covers 286 articles published in the Scopus and Web of Science databases over the past two decades in the area of collaborative governance and digital transformation, employing established and innovative bibliometric approaches. Graphical analyses are used to illustrate co-authorship, keywords co-occurrence, research topics evolution, and the network of influential researchers within collaborative governance and digital transformation.Findings: The results show that the relationship between collaborative governance and digital transformation is still limited and needs further study, considering that these two concepts have been emerging trends in public administration over the past two decades. In addition, the findings reveal a significant growth in research of these topics over time, although not specifically focused on collaborative digital transformation.Practical Implications: The article provides a summary of key aspects of collaborative governance and digital transformation research and helps lay the foundations for shaping the future of this evolving field of public administration. Thus, it helps researchers understand the development of collaborative digital transformation research over the past two decades, as collaborative digital transformation is a relatively new field of research characterised by rapid growth and evolution.Originality/Value: The research contributes to the understanding of collaborative digital transformation as a distinct research area within the broader concepts of digital transformation and collaborative governance, which is still seeking its own identity in academic literature, and offers a definition of collaborative digital transformation (CDT)
Business’ Attitudes Towards Corruption in Selected Central European Countries
Full text linkPurpose: Corruption is perceived as a widespread problem throughout the world, including in Central European countries. In terms of corruption, these countries still lag behind the leading EU countries (as indicated by the 2023 Worldwide Governance Indicators). As corruption itself is very difficult to measure, the perception of corruption is often used as a proxy. The aim of this paper is to analyse attitudes towards corruption in selected Central European countries and to draw conclusions on the factors influencing these perceptions. Based on the assumption that the difference between de jure and de facto transparency matters, we selected Czechia, Hungary, and Poland as countries with small differences between these two dimensions of transparency, and Croatia, Slovakia, and Slovenia as countries with large differences.Design/Methodology/Approach: Using Eurobarometer data, we applied logistic regression to analyse attitudes towards corruption in the two groups of countries distinguished by differences in de jure and de facto transparency. Each group, consisting of three Central European countries, was used to create a model, i.e., Model 1 and Model 2, with a total number of observations of 901 and 902, respectively. Both models displayed adequate fit indices and enabled predictions that allowed us to draw conclusions. All respondents were business representatives with decision-making responsibilities in their companies, ensuring that the results reflect company perceptions rather than those of the general public.Findings: Attitudes towards corruption in the countries studied are related to perceptions of patronage and nepotism in business, perceptions of corruption in public procurement, perceived links between politics and business, and attitudes towards tax rates. In the group where there is little difference between de jure and de facto transparency levels, business attitudes towards corruption are also associated with perceptions of adequacy of infrastructure and complexity of administrative procedures. In the countries where these differences are substantial, attitudes towards corruption are related to perceptions of problems arising from frequent changes in the law, problems with debt collection, and differences in views regarding the severity of bribery depending on the value of the bribe.Academic contribution to the field: This research provides a better understanding of the factors influencing the perception of corruption in Central European countries from a business perspective. In doing so, it introduces a methodology that is well-suited for the analysis of survey-collected data, especially since it allows the dependent variable to be categorical. Moreover, by using data from the Transparency Index to differentiate countries, the study has the potential to stimulate further theoretical and empirical research into the relationship between corruption and transparency. Lastly, by linking companies’ perceived problems to overall perceptions of corruption, this paper helps to identify the areas within the studied countries where pockets of corruption are most likely to exist.Originality/Value: Previous research has found that corruption tends to occur when the gap between de facto and de jure transparency is larger. This research demonstrates that the size of this gap can also be successfully used to achieve a better understanding of the factors influencing attitudes towards corruption. Therefore, this paper employs the difference between de jure and de facto transparency as a categorisation criterion to analyse the factors influencing the perception of corruption. This categorisation approach enabled the development of two separate logistic regression models with high predictive power
Public Administration Digitalization and Government Effectiveness in EU Countries
Full text linkPurpose: This study continues the series of previous research carried out by the authors on the digital transformation in EU countries. It aims to identify and analyse the progress made by EU administrations in terms of digitization and effective governance in the period 2019–2021. Design/methodology/approach: Based on selected variables from Eurostat and the World Bank databases, the article provides insights into the dynamic changes that occurred in the EU in the period under consideration. The research employs Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and K-means clustering as the primary research methods to analyse the variations and correlations among 10 numerical variables selected from Eurostat and World Bank databases. Findings and Practical Implications: The results obtained through PCA show the impact of digitalization on government effectiveness. A comprehensive analysis of government effectiveness has been conducted using PCA, which reveals that the first two principal components account for 77.05% of the initial variance. A K-means clustering with four clusters reveals that the most significant and noteworthy increase in digitalization and government effectiveness in the EU is achieved by the Nordic countries, which exhibit high levels of digitalization and government efficiency. Originality: In this ranking, clusters 2 and 3 comprise well-developed countries with a positive relation between governmental digitalization and efficiency, while cluster 4 consists of emerging countries where the correlation between digitization and governmental efficiency is low or very low, which is primarily attributed to the limited degree of digitization within government institutions
Trends in the Digitalisation of Public Administrations – in Light of EU Legislation and Domestic Developments
Full text linkPurpose: Regulating the parameters of all types of identity – including its elements, authenticity and authenticator, verifiability, and the verification process – requires particular attention. The most critical element here is most likely its presence in the digital sphere. Our main goal is to examine the proposal to amend the eIDAS Regulation to create a framework for a European digital identity.Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper analyses the topic in terms of Union law and the most recent strategic document of the Hungarian governmental decisionmaker, incorporating pertinent scientific findings. The article evaluates the current situation, highlighting foreseeable and potential impacts of the new legislative developments.Findings: The paper presents both the practices established by the eIDAS Regulation as a starting point and the current status of digitalisation in Hungary (primarily in public administration).Practical Implications: Eventually, we will attempt to identify the expected opportunities and advantages, as well as risks and drawbacks, associated with the nascent trend of digitalization of public administration in the EU and Hungary.Originality/Value: Upon establishing a groundwork in this domain, the nature of the amendment and the domestic response (National Digital Citizenship Programme) will be reviewed to assess efforts at both the European and Hungarian levels.