•  
  •  
 

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Abstract

In this study, we examine the existence of a reciprocal pattern of performance bias shared between citizens and street-level bureaucrats, which we term as ‘shared pessimism’, assumed to implicate public service reform. Primary data were collected using surveys administered to 207 public service providers and 248 citizen recipients across six Indonesian public service agencies operated in two regional governments. Statistical analysis was then conducted to examine bureaucrats’ self-enhancing bias and their pessimistic view of citizen ratings, as well as to clarify citizens’ tendency to underrate the performance of bureaucrats in public service organizations. Our findings confirm pervasive internal pessimism amongst bureaucrats regarding citizen evaluations across all investigated agencies. Interestingly, however, the data reveal that both citizens and bureaucrats respectively were, in fact, not as bad as they reciprocally presumed. Finally, we demonstrate that individual bureaucrats’ beliefs on their own performance influence their propensity for change, thereby affecting the reform progress.

References

Alicke, M. D., & Sedikides, C. (2009). Self-enhancement and self-protection: What they are and what they do. European Review of Social Psychology, 20(1), 1–48.

Allport, G. W. (1937). Personality: A psychological interpretation.

Armenakis, A. A., & Bedeian, A. G. (1999). Organizational change: A review of theory and research in the 1990s. Journal of Management, 25(3), 293–315.

Armenakis, A. A., Harris, S. G., & Mossholder, K. W. (1993). Creating readiness for organizational change. Human Relations, 46(6), 681–703.

Aspinall, E. (2005). Opposing Suharto: Compromise, resistance, and regime change in Indonesia. Stanford University Press.

Baekgaard, M., & Serritzlew, S. (2016). Interpreting performance information: Motivated reasoning or unbiased comprehension. Public Administration Review, 76(1), 73–82.

Berman, E. M. (2016). Dealing with cynical citizens. In Local Government Management (pp. 401–414). Routledge.

Burnes, Bernard. (2017). Managing change. Pearson Education Limited.

Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2009). Organization Development & Change. Cengage learning.

Elliot, A. J., & Church, M. A. (2003). A Motivational Analysis Of Defensive Pessimism And Self‐Handicapping. Journal of Personality, 71(3), 369–396.

Grimmelikhuijsen, S., Jilke, S., Olsen, A. L., & Tummers, L. (2017). Behavioral Public Administration: Combining Insights from Public Administration and Psychology. Public Administration Review, 77(1), 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12609

Holt, D. T. (2002). Readiness For Change: The Development Of A Scale. Auburn University.

Holt, D. T., Armenakis, A. A., Feild, H. S., & Harris, S. G. (2007). Readiness for organizational change: The systematic development of a scale. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 43(2), 232–255.

Huang, H. (2017). A War of (Mis)Information: The Political Effects of Rumors and Rumor Rebuttals in an Authoritarian Country. British Journal of Political Science, 47(2), 283–311. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123415000253

Hvidman, U., & Andersen, S. C. (2016). Perceptions of public and private performance: Evidence from a survey experiment. Public Administration Review, 76(1), 111–120.

Javidmehr, M., & Ebrahimpour, M. (2015). Performance appraisal bias and errors: The influences and consequences. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 4, 286–302.

Kampen, J. K., De Walle, S. Van, & Bouckaert, G. (2006). Assessing the relation between satisfaction with public service delivery and trust in Government. The impact of the predisposition of citizens toward Government on evalutations of its performance. Public Performance & Management Review, 29(4), 387–404.

Kelly, J. M., & Swindell, D. (2002). A multiple–indicator approach to municipal service evaluation: Correlating performance measurement and citizen satisfaction across jurisdictions. Public Administration Review, 62(5), 610–621.

Kroll, A. (2015). Explaining the Use of Performance Information by Public Managers. The American Review of Public Administration, 45(2), 201–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074013486180

Lewin, K. (1951). Field Theory In Social Science: Selected Theoretical Papers (Edited by Dorwin Cartwright.).

Lord, R. G., & Smith, J. E. (1983). Theoretical, Information Processing, and Situational Factors Affecting Attribution Theory Models of Organizational Behavior. Academy of Management Review, 8(1), 50–60. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1983.4287658

Mardiasmo, D., Barnes, P. H., & Sakurai, Y. (2008). Implementation of good governance by regional governments in Indonesia: the challenges. Twelfth Annual Conference of the International Research Society for Public Management.

Marvel, J. D. (2015). Unconscious Bias in Citizens’ Evaluations of Public Sector Performance. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, muu053. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muu053

Marvel, J. D. (2016). Unconscious bias in citizens’ evaluations of public sector performance. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 26(1), 143–158.

Meier, K. J., & O’toole, L. J. (2012). Subjective organizational performance and measurement error: Common source bias and spurious relationships. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 23(2), 429–456.

Melkers, J., & Thomas, J. C. (1998). What do administrators think citizens think? Administrator predictions as an adjunct to citizen surveys. Public Administration Review, 327–334.

Miller, D. T., & Ross, M. (1975). Self-serving biases in the attribution of causality: Fact or fiction? Psychological Bulletin, 82(2), 213–225. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0076486

Miller, V. D., Johnson, J. R., & Grau, J. (1994). Antecedents to willingness to participate in a planned organizational change.

Moynihan, D. P., & Pandey, S. K. (2010). The Big Question for Performance Management: Why Do Managers Use Performance Information? Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 20(4), 849–866. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muq004

Norem, J. K., & Cantor, N. (1986). Defensive pessimism: Harnessing anxiety as motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1208.

Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1994). Alternative scales for measuring service quality: a comparative assessment based on psychometric and diagnostic criteria. Journal of Retailing, 70(3), 201–230.

Pepinsky, T. B. (2009). Economic Crises and The Breakdown Of Authoritarian Regimes: Indonesia And Malaysia In Comparative Perspective. Cambridge University Press.

Piderit, S. K. (2000). Rethinking resistance and recognizing ambivalence: A multidimensional view of attitudes toward an organizational change. Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 783–794.

Poister, T. H., & Thomas, J. C. (2007). The Wisdom Of Crowds: Learning From Administrators’ Predictions Of Citizen Perceptions. Public Administration Review, 67(2), 279–289.

Przeworski, A., & Teune, H. (1970). The Logic Of Comparative Social Inquiry. New York: Wiley-Interscience.

Robins, R. W., & Beer, J. S. (2001). Positive Illusions About The Self: Short-Term Benefits And Long-Term Costs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(2), 340.

Ross, L. (1977). The Intuitive Psychologist And His Shortcomings: Distortions In The Attribution Process. In Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 10, pp. 173–220). Academic Press.

Rozin, P., & Royzman, E. B. (2001). Negativity Bias, Negativity Dominance, and Contagion. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5(4), 296–320. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0504_2

Sasmita, I. (2013, September 10). Wamen PAN-RB: Reformasi Birokrasi Bergerak Lambat. Https://News.Republika.Co.Id/Berita/Nasional/Politik/13/09/10/Mswms7-Wamen-Panrb-Reformasi-Birokrasi-Bergerak-Lambat?

Schütte, S. A. (2012). Against The Odds: Anti‐Corruption Reform In Indonesia. Public Administration and Development, 32(1), 38–48. https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.623

Schwarz, A. (2018). A nation in waiting: Indonesia’s search for stability. Routledge.

Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Learned Optimism: How To Change Your Mind And Your Life. Vintage.

Tarigan, A., Gustomo, A., & Bangun, Y. R. (2025). Are Performance Appraisals In The Public Sector Fair? EXPLORING Bias And Best Practices. Cogent Business & Management, 12(1), 2458760.

Taylor, S. E., Collins, R. L., Skokan, L. A., & Aspinwall, L. G. (1989). Maintaining positive illusions in the face of negative information: Getting the facts without letting them get to you. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 8(2), 114–129.

Van de Walle, S., & Bouckaert, G. (2003). Public Service Performance and Trust in Government: The Problem of Causality. International Journal of Public Administration, 26(8–9), 891–913. https://doi.org/10.1081/PAD-120019352

Van den Bekerom, P., van der Voet, J., & Christensen, J. (2021). Are Citizens More Negative About Failing Service Delivery by Public Than Private Organizations? Evidence From a Large-Scale Survey Experiment. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 31(1), 128–149. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muaa027

Van Doorn, R., Ihsan, A., Agustina, C. D. R. D., & Yoong, P. S. (2020). Indonesia-Public Expenditure Review: Spending for Better Results: Main Report.

Van Ryzin, G. G. (2004). Expectations, performance, and citizen satisfaction with urban services. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 23(3), 433–448.

Wanberg, C. R., & Banas, J. T. (2000). Predictors And Outcomes Of Openness To Changes In A Reorganizing Workplace. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(1), 132.

Wang, X. (2015). Assessing Public Participation in US Cities. In The age of direct citizen participation (pp. 401–415). Routledge.

Weiner, B. J., Amick, H., & Lee, S.-Y. D. (2008). Conceptualization And Measurement Of Organizational Readiness For Change: A Review Of The Literature In Health Services Research And Other Fields. Medical Care Research and Review, 65(4), 379–436.

Wigunawan, H., Noor, I., & Wanto, A. H. (2016). Performance Appraisal in Indonesian Local Government. Jurnal Ilmiah Administrasi Publik, 2(4), 198–206.

World Bank. (2026, November 1). Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 Revision. Www.Govindicators.Org.

Wu, J., & Yang, Y. (2011). Does Public Servants’ Low Trust in Citizen Raters Really Matter? Evidence from Mainland China. International Public Management Review, 12(1), 1–21.

Yammarino, F. J., & Atwater, L. E. (1997). Do Managers See Themselves As Other See Them? Implications Of Self-Other Rating Agreement For Human Resources Management. Organizational Dynamics, 25(4), 35–44.

Yang, K., & Holzer, M. (2006). The Performance–Trust Link: Implications For Performance Measurement. Public Administration Review, 66(1), 114–126.

First Page

51

Last Page

61

Download

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.