This is a study about organizational effectiveness in research centers and institutes (CIs) within public higher education institutions. In particular, this study focuses on how to measure their effectiveness by integrating competing conceptions of effectiveness. This study uses a linear programming method called Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to examine the relative performance or organizational effectiveness of CIs based on the Competing Values Framework (CVF) as a theoretical foundation. The CVF encompasses four representative organizational effectiveness models: rational goal model, open system model, human relations model, and internal process model. Thus, in one framework, it provides the researcher with a systematically integrated way to evaluate organizational effectiveness, and affords much latitude in dealing with various different organizational contexts. Because of its utility in drawing together a variety of theoretical approaches to organizational effectiveness, the framework provides stakeholders with a balanced perspective between different organizational values. By employing DEA methodology, this study identified the "best practice" exhibited by organizations on the efficient frontier and makes recommendations regarding how sub-"best practice" CIs could become more efficient and perform according to "best practice" standards in each model of the CVF. The DEA methodology is innovative and unique in that it determines "best practice" CIs rather than the traditional comparison to "average" performance that characterizes the analytic approach most researchers currently use. This dissertation confirmed that it is better for evaluators to consider four different values, rational goal, relations with environment, human relations within the organizations, and internal work process, for a balanced judgment of effectiveness of subject organizations. In addition, a new approach combining CVF and DEA is a useful measurement tool for organizational effectiveness and a potential management tool to stimulate organizational performance. As important members of universities, CIs provide students with ample opportunities to engage their research interests. Through research activities, public service, and teaching and training by CIs, students can be trained and constituencies can be provided new knowledge-based technology and practical services. This role of the CIs is important for the future of society, and this research contributes to their effort by measuring their performance or effectiveness with a novel approach, DEA, based on the integrated theoretical foundation of organizational effectiveness, CVF. This study finds several useful results. First, the study suggests that if one wants to evaluate organizational effectiveness, using several different models is a better approach than using the traditional goal model alone to avoid misdiagnosis of the effectiveness of the organizations. Second, managers should avoid definitive effectiveness comparisons between CIs supported by different disciplines; comparisons between CIs within the same discipline are shown to be more appropriate. Third, a new approach which integrates DEA and CVF has a potential to evaluate organizational effectiveness and to be used as an organizational management tool, but other qualitative methods should be used to get additional important information about the subject organizations. University administrators and research fund providers such as federal, state, and local governments who are interested in the understanding and knowledge of student success in postsecondary education could use the results of this study to serve a variety of private and public interests / A Dissertation submitted to the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2004. / July 6, 2004. / Management, Organizational Effectiveness, Higher Education, Research Centers and Institutes / Includes bibliographical references. / Ralph S. Brower, Professor Directing Dissertation; Wonsik “Jeff” Shim, Outside Committee Member; Robert B. Bradley, Committee Member; William E. Klay, Committee Member.

A policy phenomenon sometimes has multi-facets like a polyhedron because many stakeholders with different preferences or goals are involved in the policy process. The case of tax competition in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) is also a multi-faceted policy phenomenon. Recently the Korean central government introduced a package of tax hikes on real estate in order to achieve tax levy equity. This remarkable tax innovation, however, resulted in conflicts between three actors (the central government, residents and local governments), which were followed by an area-wide tax competition among local governments of the SMA. Under severe tax competition over the SMA, the direct impact of the tax hike policy on the property tax burden the rich group had to bear shrank to the half level the central government originally expected. Rather the tax hike policy under tax competition also resulted in unexpected inequity problems in the property tax burden occurred within jurisdictions and between jurisdictions. To analyze some interesting issues related to the three actors' behavior and interactions, this research employs three different models incorporating three different perspectives of the three actors: Median Voting, Delegation and Implementation, and Strategic Tiebout Tax Competition Models. Based on the Median Voting model, this research first examines the process of how the residents influence the local governments in the chapter 2. Supposing that preferred tax rates by median-wealth residents with small/middle sized house or condominium are lower than the recommended tax rate, the pre-electoral competition model implies that the tax competition of SMA will result in the property tax cuts. Since the house or condominium is the most valuable asset to the median-wealth residents in some local jurisdictions, the median-wealth residents strongly request for the residential property tax cut, responding the tax rate cuts in the local rich jurisdictions. Second, the Delegation and Implementation model analysis will examine: (1) why the local governments cut the property tax against the tax hike policy of the central government in spite of the expected sanctions. A trade-off condition between the tax revenue and pre-electoral benefit implies that the local governments will have the quadratic utility or preference function. Also the median-wealth residents also face the trade-off between the public goods and the tax burden, and the central government is supposed to look for the optimal property tax rate which will satisfy their goal for the fair redistribution of the wealth; (2) Under equilibrium, the central government utilizes its fiscal discretion to prevent local governments' deviation in a strategic situation; and (3) what factors influence the use of fiscal discretion by local governments. Third, this research examines the strategic tax competition of SMA. Based on some propositions from two analyses of the median voting and implementation models, the analysis of the tax competition model will examine what determines the degree of tax cut and what influences the decision making on whether to cut the property tax or not. Using a spatial econometric model, this research provides empirical evidence to support the causalities postulated in the multiple theoretical models of this dissertation. This research will first contribute to the formal model study area by enriching the empirical research literature of formal modeling. Finally, the research is expected to show that the models developed by the American or Western European scholars are applicable to the analysis of the Asian cases under some conditions. / A Dissertation submitted to the Reubin O'D. Askew of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2008. / June 2, 2008. / Implementation and Delegation, Median Voter, Strategic Tax Competition / Includes bibliographical references. / Frances S. Berry, Professor Directing Dissertation; Carol S. Weissert, Outside Committee Member; Richard C. Feiock, Committee Member; Lance deHaven-Smith, Committee Member.

From the dawn of civilization, political science and public administration have developed a close relationship. The development of a more stable society could not take place without the improvement and coordination of political and administrative techniques that foster social cohesion. Public administration and political science not only study and develop such techniques, but also work toward accomplishing such cohesion. For all its intellectual history, the field of public administration has been acknowledged to have a niche in the political science discipline. Yet this position has not always been a comfortable one. Through their quest for authority, autonomy, professionalism, and scientism, public administration and political science emerged as two disciplines that were proven capable of institutionalizing their distinct formal knowledge. The transformation of this body of knowledge, from generalized to more specialized, contributed at times to the alliance between the two disciplines and at other times to a growing tension between them and even separation. Despite a rocky journey, the two fields appeared to have a natural alliance that had endured harsh times and weak ties and was now making its way toward a rapprochement. This dissertation examines American Public Administration's relationship to political science. It analyzes major theoretical trends in both fields' history that have had a profound impact on the historical development of such relation. These include: politics-administration dichotomy, bureaucracy and democracy, theory and practice, and behavioralism. The method of research of this study is mainly historical. However, a content analysis is conducted. The data collected include primary sources, such as scholarly publications in both fields, and other related material such as the disciplines' academic organization and professional associations. When was the origin; what is the nature; and how is the present condition, of the two disciplines' relationship? These are some of the questions this work attempts to answer. / A Dissertation submitted to the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2005. / July 5, 2005. / Public Administration, Political Science, Historical Analysis / Includes bibliographical references. / Mary E. Guy, Professor Directing Dissertation; John Reynolds, Outside Committee Member; Frances S. Berry, Committee Member; Ralph Brower, Committee Member.

During the past quarter century, efforts have been made to control rising hospital costs, which are the largest component of U.S. health care expenditures. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship among five community characteristics and hospital ownership types; determine whether there are differences in operational performance (cost and efficiency) between private nonprofit and private for-profit hospitals; and propose an answer to the question - Why do local governments contract-manage their hospital operation? Using a mixed-method research design, the findings are: (1) there are mixed results in the relationship between community characteristics and hospital ownership types; (2) there are no significant differences in operational performance of private nonprofit and private for-profit hospitals; and (3) hospitals pursue contract management services to gain hospital management expertise, financial management, medical and information technology, and human resource management and recruitment. The implications of this study calls for a broader examination of operational performance among hospital ownership types and policy direction on the goals and mission of a public private venture such as contract management. / A Dissertation submitted to the Askew School of Public Administration & Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2008. / June 23, 2008. / Institutional Theory, Transaction Cost / Includes bibliographical references. / Mary E. Guy, Professor Directing Dissertation; Marie Cowart, Outside Committee Member; Robert Bradley, Committee Member; Lance deHaven-Smith, Committee Member.

What factors account for management innovations such as utilization of strategic planning in local governments? Do management innovations depend on the same explanatory factors as policy innovations? What additional factors are relevant in developing a theory of management innovation as opposed to policy innovation? Political and socioeconomic factors have been linked to innovations in government, but most evidence is based on the study of policy innovation rather than management innovation. Policy innovations studies can provide insights into what factors may influence management innovations in municipal governments and agencies. However, we argue that the study of public management innovations should also consider factors related to institutions, bureaucracy, regional competition, and professional networks as well as political and socioeconomic characteristics. Some Florida city governments and departments have no strategic planning and performance measurement despite their complex and competitive environment. This dissertation investigates utilization of strategic planning and priority strategies in Florida city governments as a municipal management innovation with predictive as well as descriptive models. The descriptive and predictive models of municipal management innovation are explained and tested with data from Florida Public Management surveys conducted in 2005 using multivariate regression and logistic regression analyses. The empirical findings of descriptive models find that half of Florida city governments and departments have used strategic planning and performance measurement and many of them have used priority strategies for policy and program decision, budget decision, e-government, and contracting-out. They also find many Florida city governments and agencies using both strategic planning and performance measurement have not linked with performance measurement to evaluate strategic plans. The empirical findings of predictive models suggest management innovations are influenced by different factors than policy innovations. Institutions, business orientation, red tape, risk-taking leadership, regional density of local government providers, and professional management networks are important factors in explaining management innovations, such as utilization of strategic planning and priority strategies, and deserve greater attention in the literature. The empirical findings provide effective use of strategic management and determinants of management innovations in local governments. / A Dissertation submitted to the Askew School of Public Administration and Public Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2006. / March 17, 2006. / Network, Local Government, Management Innovation, Public Management, Performance Measurement, Strategic Planning, Strategic Management, Institution, Red Tape / Includes bibliographical references. / Frances S. Berry, Professor Directing Dissertation; John Reynolds, Outside Committee Member; Richard R. Feiock, Committee Member; Ralph Brower, Committee Member.

Just as collective action problems are an unavoidable feature of individual decision-making in social settings, regional problems, such as common pool resources and scale and externality problems in service provision, are unavoidable for local governments in metropolitan areas characterized by fragmented jurisdictional authority. Despite tremendous interest in regionalism and regional governance and a growing number of studies of various approaches to regionalism, the role of regional organizations in regional governance has not been sufficiently examined. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how and to what extent regional organizations influence self-organizing efforts by local governments to address regional problems involving intergovernmental fiscal cooperation and land development coordination by focusing on the role of Florida's Regional Planning Councils (RPCs). The institutional collective action (ICA) framework is applied to help understand cooperative efforts among local governments and provide explanations not only for general factors shaping interlocal cooperation such as community characteristics and the arrangement of political institutions, but also for how regional organizations may influence cooperation among local governments. The empirical results explore whether regional organizations influence self-organizing interlocal cooperation efforts in two ways. First, no support is found for a positive or complimentary influence on self-organized solutions to regional issues arising from regional organizations' network broker role. Second, where regional organizations possess greater resources, the likelihood that a municipality cooperates with neighboring communities on fiscal exchanges or land development issues decreases. Thus, the proactive roles of regional organizations appear to crowd out or substitute for self-organizing cooperation efforts that otherwise may occur. Third, evidence is also found that regional organizations' revenue from federal and state governments may compliment intelocal cooperation. In the process of distributing federal and state grants with specific designated purposes, regional organizations tend to favor cooperative efforts by providing opportunities for local authorities to develop mutual trust in the policy areas where the grants are spent. Interlocal cooperation is also influenced by community characteristics that create demands for, or barriers to, cooperation. Municipal governments experiencing fiscal stress are more active in interlocal revenue transfers. Racial homogeneity is also a factor. Highly homogeneous municipalities, less restricted by divergent citizen preferences, are more likely to engage in interlocal fiscal cooperation. Finally, political institutions are important to explain self-organizing efforts to solve regional problems. Municipal governments with the council-manager form tend more to receive interlocal revenue transfers and to cooperate with other local governments on land development issues. These results suggest that the selective career incentives of city managers can be a source of interlocal cooperation efforts. In addition, cities with more neighboring communities are less likely to rely on interlocal coordination for land development issues. This research has both practical and theoretical implications. State policy makers need to balance calls for regional efforts with an acknowledgement that centralized regionalism may sometimes undermine self-organizing solutions. In designing regional organizations and programs, they need to identify and minimize tradeoffs between horizontal and vertical regional solutions. This study suggests that scholars of regionalism and intergovernmental relations need to examine configurations of regional coordination mechanisms by addressing the influence of institutional arrangements in a more comprehensive way rather than simply focusing on either vertical or horizontal regional governance mechanisms in isolation. This study also provides agendas for future research. First, the analysis can be extended to the national level to reflect variation among regional organizations in different states. Second, a typology of the relationships between regional organizations and self-organizing interlocal cooperation can be advanced to investigate the various types of regional organizations. Third, different interlocal cooperation network structures among different regional organizations can be analyzed by using social network analysis programs. Finally, the influence of regional organizations can be examined in specific policy areas to account for service specific characteristics. / A Dissertation submitted to the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2008. / June 2, 2008. / Land Use Coordination, Fiscal Cooperation, Institutional Collective Action, Interlocal Cooperation, Regional Organizations / Includes bibliographical references. / Richard C. Feiock, Professor Directing Dissertation; John T. Scholz, Outside Committee Member; Frances S. Berry, Committee Member; Kaifeng Yang, Committee Member.

This study originated from the following two questions: to what extent do city governments engage in policy actions to restrict development and manage growth; and how do local political institutions shape the restrictiveness of local growth management? To answer the questions, first of all, this dissertation identifies variations in the exercise of growth management powers across cities based on financial data gathered from fiscal reports filed with the Florida Comptroller, and policy implementation/adoption data gathered in a mail survey conducted by the author in collaboration with Richard Feiock and Antonio Tavares. Information on city level political institutions and governing structures is gathered from the International City Management Association's (ICMA) 2001 Form of Government Survey. Based on information about growth management expenditure and policy adoption/implementation, this study examines a broad set of government institutions extended to include the size and organization of city councils and standing committees. This research focused on the implementation and exercise of discretionary powers as well as policy adoption in relation to growth management based on a political market approach. In the political market approach, focusing on the demander and supplier help us understand internal forces of growth management policy. Finally, acknowledging that the underlying theory of institutions in this work is applicable to cities, this study attempts to identify cities' spatial impact on expenditures for growth management. Referring to policy diffusion theory, we review the impact of neighboring cites' on comprehensive planning expenditure as identifying the internal and external forces by using of political market and spatial effect model. In this research, the followings are the core parts we focus on implementation of growth management policy: local comprehensive planning expenditures, zoning request approval, and policy enforcement of the innovative policies. We considered the role of local institutions as supplier, political economy demands, and municipal context. For the hypotheses tests, we employ three different kinds of statistical analysis: spatial regression, ordered probit, and probit analysis. / A Dissertation submitted to the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2005. / March 25, 2005. / Comprehensive Planning, Growth Management Politics, Land Use Management / Includes bibliographical references. / Richard C. Feiock, Professor Directing Dissertation; Donald A. Lloyd, Outside Committee Member; Frances Berry, Committee Member; Lance deHaven-Smith, Committee Member.

Network structure is one explanatory variable to explain network performance, but its effect may be uncertain. Much research, however, has not attempted to combine network structures with other characteristics of networks – e.g., network social capital, network management, or network learning – that may explain network performance. The consideration of other network characteristics as well as the combination of network structure with other factors cannot be ignored. This study proposed four network characteristics and presented an integrated model of network performance. The model included unique aspects (structure, content, process, and management) of networks from four network perspectives. This study first examined simple relationships between each characteristic and network performance, and then extended intermediated effects of each characteristic on others. This study used 136 workforce development networks for this analysis with a social network analysis program (UCINET 6.0) and the LISREL 8.0 program. Fifteen of the twenty-five hypotheses proposed were supported. Key research findings are as follows: more diverse service networks or less centralized networks are more likely to lead to better network performance; there is a positive relationship between network social capital and network performance; service provider network learning had a positive effect on network performance; there is a positive relationship between network management and network performance; a more adaptive service provider network is more likely to have more effective network management network and to influence employer network learning processes.. This study also provided managerial implications for workforce development managers that relatively equal distributed networks (loose/decentralized network) and more cohesive networks may be one of strategic choices for maintaining workforce development program stability or increasing the network capacity. From the results of the comprehensive data analysis and procedures, this study concludes that in successful workforce development programs, a more thorough understanding of network characteristics of workforce development programs should be made. / A Dissertation submitted to the Reubin O’D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2005. / July 1, 2005. / Public Management, Network Analysis, Workforce Development Program, Public Administration / Includes bibliographical references. / Ralph S. Brower, Professor Directing Dissertation; Robert E. Crew, Jr., Outside Committee Member; Frances S. Berry, Committee Member; Mary E. Guy, Committee Member.

This research examines Florida school districts' adoption of Reading First legislation passed into law as part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This research attempts to answer the fundamental question pertinent to the policy adoption process: Why do some school districts readily adopt the Reading First innovation while others do not adopt it? This research will test key factors based on the following explanations: 1) Political Institutions, 2) Need and District Characteristics, 3) Education Ideology, 4) Policy Entrepreneurs and Networks, and 5) Diffusion. A multivariate model representing the five competing explanations was created to determine what drives local governments (school districts) to adopt Reading First policy using Event History Analysis. The results show two significant variables, reading scores (need) and diffusion. School districts with fewer proficient readers are more likely to be early adopters of Reading First. The diffusion variable was also significant but unexpectedly had a negative relationship finding that districts with fewer contiguous districts that have adopted Reading First are more likely to be early adopters. While unexpected, it may be the result of the short timeline of the adoption process and the pressure by the media, political actors, and district personnel to be an early adopter. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2005. / October 6, 2005. / Reading First, Innovation, Event History Analysis, Diffusion, Florida / Includes bibliographical references. / Frances Stokes Berry, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sande Milton, Outside Committee Member; Richard Feiock, Committee Member; Lance DeHaven-Smith, Committee Member.

The interaction of policy and management presents a close relationship in administrative practices. This dissertation estimates the impacts on use of local performance measures related to local service contracting. The previous research only tested individual state level or local level, rather than estimated how state factors influence local practices. For example, the hierarchical rules, mandates, and laws made by state levels might affect the adoption rates of local management innovation. As well, the previous efforts only used cross-sectional data to understand the adoption of local management innovation, which may overlook the changes over time that take place in local management performance measurement innovation. In this dissertation, the propensity to "implement" the adoption of a new management instrument has been studied under the rubric of management innovation, specifically as adopting a variety of performance measurement in local service delivery contracting. To analyze the "diffusion" characteristic of space and time, the model strategies employed in this dissertation include the local level and state level with a time growth curve estimated by Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) and Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model (HGLM). To enhance understanding of the adoption and the process of management innovation, the study employs panel data drawn from the survey of 1992, 1997, and 2002 International City and County Management Association (ICMA) city administrators' responses to local service delivery programs on municipal and county governments nested in state levels to test the adoption of local performance measures related to service contracting. This dissertation intends to estimate the relationship about how contract management capacity and state factors influence the rate of use of performance measurement, and to compare two group differences of private contracting, and nonprofit contracting employed by local governments nested in state levels. Beyond our expectations, the diffusion of local performance measurement nested in state level did not significantly change over time, but the findings with the growth curve models showed that the adoption of performance measurement indeed had grown over our observed time. In general, the local contract management capacity (e.g., feasibility assessment, evaluation, and implementation) significantly matters to the adoption of three types of performance measurements (e.g., citizen satisfaction, cost, contract compliance). In individual, the contract management capacity and state factors (e.g., state divided government, state reinventions) significantly impacts the use of performance measurement for private contracting. However, the state factors weakly influence the adoption of performance measurements when local governments employed nonprofit contracting. Several factors--structural and institutional heterogeneity-- can explain these differences in use of performance measures related to private contracting, and nonprofit contracting. The empirical findings also show that state factors have a large impact on the adoption of performance measurement related to service delivery contracting. The findings suggest that local practices are indeed embedded in multilevel diffusion that may be unobserved by the previous studies in public administration research. / A Dissertation submitted to the Reubin O’D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2008. / June 2, 2008. / Service Delivery Contracting, State and Local Governments, Management Innovation, Performance Measurement / Includes bibliographical references. / Frances S. Berry, Professor Directing Dissertation; John Reynolds, Outside Committee Member; Richard Feiock, Committee Member; Kaifeng Yang, Committee Member.