Public Perceptions of Administrative Values Tradeoff: Do Sector Types Matter?

Last registered on August 16, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Public Perceptions of Administrative Values Tradeoff: Do Sector Types Matter?
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011918
Initial registration date
August 15, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
August 16, 2023, 11:57 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
August 16, 2023, 3:38 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
University of Arizona

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
American University

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-08-22
End date
2023-09-30
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Scholarly debate over bureaucratic and democratic values has been one of the fundamental questions in the field of public administration. Despite a volume of theoretical discussions, we know little about how the general public cares about these two sets of administrative values in practice, and whether the service sectors affect public perceptions of administrative values. This paper fills the gap in the literature by conducting a vignette experiment using the context of US nursing homes where bureaucratic and democratic values (effectiveness, efficiency, equity, and participation), as well as sectors (for-profit, nonprofit, and public), serve as treatment manipulations. The experiment participants will complete a set of survey questions (that have previously been validated) that ask their perceptions of different aspects of organizational performance, after reading a vignette that describes various managerial activities of a hypothetical US nursing home (which will be manipulated for-profit, nonprofit, or public nursing homes). Using the data from this experiment, we will be able to assess public perceptions of key administrative values in evaluating government performance. The findings from this research will have broad implications to multiple streams of public administration literature, including public values, performance management, and bureaucratic and democratic ethos.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Jo, Suyeon and Kenneth Meier. 2023. "Public Perceptions of Administrative Values Tradeoff: Do Sector Types Matter?." AEA RCT Registry. August 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11918-1.1
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-08-22
Intervention End Date
2023-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The key outcome variables of interest are participants' perceptions of key administrative values (effectiveness, efficiency, equity, and participation; whether and to what extent participants think that a government organization provides public services in effective, efficient, equitable, and participatory manners).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The participants will read a short description of various managerial activities (their effectiveness, efficiency, equity, and participation dimensions will be manipulated) of a nursing home (which will be manipulated as for-profit, nonprofit, and public). They will then be asked to complete a series of survey questions that capture their perceptions of this nursing home's performance.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization by the survey experimental software
Randomization Unit
Individuals
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
2400 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2400 participants will be randomly assigned to the each of the following cues:

Sector cue: for-profit, nonprofit, public
Effectiveness cue: Randomly assign 1-5
Efficiency cue: Randomly assign $8131 per month or $9937 per month
Equity Cue: Randomly assign 46% or 78% on Medicaid
Participation Cue: Randomly assign Yearly or Weekly

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
American University Institutional Review Board (IRB)
IRB Approval Date
2023-08-10
IRB Approval Number
IRB-2023-143 (Modification)

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials