Abstract
The question whether small or large organisations are associated with the best public service performance has long been a subject of debate in public administration research, and has had profound ramifications for practice. This article seeks to bring clarity to this debate by conducting a meta-analysis of studies scrutinising the relationship between organisational size and public service performance (45 articles, 122 effect sizes). Meta-analytical and meta-regression results show mostly null findings. We discuss the circumstances in which organisational size matters for public service performance, and propose rekindling venerable research agendas about nonlinearity and contingency in the size-performance relationship.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 32-65 |
Number of pages | 34 |
Journal | Asian Pacific Journal of Public Administration |
Volume | 46 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 21 Feb 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023 The University of Hong Kong.
Keywords
- meta-analysis
- null findings
- Organizational size
- public service performance