Mismatch between lower performance and higher trust in the civil service: Can culture provide an explanation?
| Date | 01 March 2020 |
| Published date | 01 March 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0192512118799756 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512118799756
International Political Science Review
2020, Vol. 41(2) 192 –206
© The Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0192512118799756
journals.sagepub.com/home/ips
Mismatch between lower
performance and higher trust
in the civil service: Can culture
provide an explanation?
Hasan Muhammad Baniamin
University of Bergen, Norway
Ishtiaq Jamil
University of Bergen, Norway
Steinar Askvik
University of Bergen, Norway
Abstract
The existing literature on institutional trust leads us to expect that institutional trust is determined by
institutional performance. In the context of three South Asian countries (Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka),
we find the opposite – that despite poor performance of the civil service, there is high institutional trust.
In this study we examine whether such mismatch can be explained by an authoritarian cultural orientation,
which generates unquestioning obedience and loyalty and may contribute to inflated institutional trust in the
civil service of these countries.
Keywords
Civil service, culture, governance, performance, trust, South Asia
Introduction
The purpose of this article is to examine whether an authoritarian cultural orientation can explain
high levels of trust in the civil service in three South Asian countries – Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri
Lanka. An ‘authoritarian cultural orientation’ means that people are inclined to respect authorities
Corresponding author:
Hasan Muhammad Baniamin, Department of Administration and Organisation Theory, University of Bergen, Post Box:
7802, Bergen, 5007, Norway.
Email: hasan.baniamin@uib.no
799756IPS0010.1177/0192512118799756International Political Science ReviewBaniamin et al.
research-article2019
Article
To continue reading
Request your trial