Buffering Political Uncertainty and Power: An Institutional Perspective on Managers' Red Tape Perception in Local Government

Abstract

Red tape research has made great progress in the past three decades. A challenge regarding government red tape is that the perception of high levels of red tape may vary according to different actors. To overcome this challenge, this study establishes an institutional perspective of red tape in local government. At the local level, some bureaucratic rules are created as institutional safeguards to reduce politicians’ uncertainties over their reelection. In particular, this study examines how political institutions affect public managers’ red tape perceptions because they influence elected officials’ political uncertainties in the election cycle. After adding new antecedents of red tape perception, the results indicate that public managers in political cities and less powerful positions perceive high levels of red tape.