MANAGERIAL GOALS IN A PERFORMANCE-DRIVEN SYSTEM: THEORY AND EMPIRICAL TESTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION Academic Article

abstract

• 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Factors influencing managerial goals and decision-making processes have been debated for decades among public administration scholars. Previous literature has explained goal setting through theories of performance gaps, bureaucratic control, and isomorphic rationality. However, there exists no direct empirical test of these theories to determine which theoretical expectation may have more or less weight with managers when setting organizational goals. Using an original survey of university presidents, this study tests how public managers prioritize competing performance goals. Findings suggest that the goal setting decisions of these public managers is primarily driven by political control mechanisms.

authors

• Meier, Kenneth

published proceedings

• PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

altmetric score

• 2

author list (cited authors)

• Rutherford, A., & Meier, K. J.

citation count

• 52

complete list of authors

• Rutherford, Amanda||Meier, Kenneth J

publication date

• March 2015

publisher

• Wiley  Publisher

published in

• Public Administration: an international quarterly covering public administration throughout the world  Journal

keywords

• 44 Human Society
• 4407 Policy And Administration
• 4408 Political Science

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1111/padm.12124

start page

• 17

end page

• 33

volume

• 93

issue

• 1

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/padm.12124