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Abstract
The effective implementation of public management policies and reforms is influenced not only by their design but also by the organizational and individual characteristics that shape compliance efforts. This dissertation examines how these factors interact within Colombia’s centralized and bureaucratic administrative system, which is rooted in Napoleonic traditions and represents a blend of different types of public management reforms. This study explores public sector compliance through three essays from organizational and individual perspectives.The first essay analyzes how structural and resource-based attributes of government organizations influence their ability to comply with one type of public management policy: transparency regulations. Using administrative data from 2016 to 2022, it assesses the role of workforce size, budget allocation, and institutional capacity in regulatory adherence. The second essay shifts the focus to public employees, investigating the motivational drivers—calculated, normative, and social—that shape compliance behavior. Drawing on survey data from the Colombian Employee Viewpoint Survey and administrative records, it applies May and Winter’s compliance model to assess the role of incentives, values, and peer influence in rule adherence. The third essay employs a qualitative approach, analyzing interviews with national government managers to explore their perspectives on compliance, managerial discretion, and reform constraints.
Findings reveal a hybrid administrative system where bureaucratic rigidity coexists with managerial reforms, creating tensions between formal compliance and practical implementation. While well-resourced agencies show higher compliance rates, institutional inertia and political constraints often hinder reform effectiveness. Normative and social motives strongly influence employees’ commitment to compliance, particularly when regulations align with professional values. Despite regulatory burdens and resource limitations, public managers employ adaptive strategies to balance control with flexibility.
By integrating organizational and individual perspectives, this research provides insights into the execution of public management policies within complex governance settings. It contributes to discussions on bureaucratic control, policy implementation, and managerial discretion across Latin America, emphasizing the necessity for institutional flexibility, enhanced managerial capacity, and strategic resource allocation to improve governance effectiveness.