The relevance and reliability of performance information for accountability: A survey experiment exploring citizens' views
| Published date | 01 March 2020 |
| Author | Shlomo Mizrahi,Yizhaq Minchuk |
| Date | 01 March 2020 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12623 |
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The relevance and reliability of performance
information for accountability: A survey
experiment exploring citizens' views
Shlomo Mizrahi
1
|Yizhaq Minchuk
2
1
Department of Public Administration and
Policy, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel,
Haifa, Israel
2
Department of Industrial Engineering and
Management, SCE –Shamoon College of
Engineering, Beer Sheva, Israel
Correspondence
Shlomo Mizrahi, Department of Public
Administration and Policy, University of Haifa,
Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel 31905.
Email: shlomom@poli.haifa.ac.il
Abstract
This study explores the impact of the configuration of per-
formance information on citizens' perceptions regarding the
impact of the information on their lives and the reliability
they assign to it. We conducted a survey experiment among
a representative sample of the Israeli population. The treat-
ment included the object being measured, the identity of
those who manage the performance management mecha-
nism, and the trend of the results. We also compared the
education and police sectors. Our findings indicate that,
overall, citizens feel that performance information has only
a low-to-medium effect on their lives, and assign a similar
level of reliability to that information. The configuration of
performance information helps explain this perceived
impact only to a limited extent. These findings question the
usefulness of performance reporting mechanisms as a major
tool for strengthening accountability and raise serious
doubts about the possible ways to improve these mecha-
nisms and make them more effective.
1|INTRODUCTION
Performance management practices have evolved to the extent that they now constitute major managerial and
policy-making tools in the public sector. One of the core ideas behind this reform is that the performance informa-
tion accumulated and provided through these mechanisms can help monitor and supervise the activities of public
servants and hold them accountable for their actions (Bovens et al. 2010; Willems and Van Dooren 2012; Gailmard
2014; Baekgaard 2015; Barrows et al. 2016; Schillemans 2016; Christensen 2018). Indeed, the measures that the
government publishes are supposed to inform the public about the performance of public organizations. Citizens can
Received: 17 September 2018Revised: 21 May 2019Accepted: 16 August 2019
DOI: 10.1111/padm.12623
140 © 2019 John Wiley & Sons LtdPublic Administration. 2020;98:140–158.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/padm
use this information to monitor public officials—both elected and appointed—thus strengthening public accountabil-
ity (Thomas 2013; Barrows et al. 2016; Lægreid and Neby 2016), make decisions that can ultimately improve their
lives either through voice or exit, and make knowledgeable voting choices (Dowding and John 2007; James 2011;
James and Moseley 2014; James and Van Ryzin 2017b). Furthermore, citizens who receive performance information
from the government and public organizations may value the quality of managerial practices that include perfor-
mance management, transparency and accountability mechanisms (Bouckaert 2012; Peiffer and Alvarez 2016).
In this article we assume that performance information will be useful for citizens only if they think that it contrib-
utes something meaningful to their lives and is sufficiently reliable. While performance information is a leading com-
ponent of accountability and reporting mechanisms, it is essential to evaluate to what extent the potential users of
performance information see actual benefits from this information and to identify the factors that may influence
these perceptions. If the public ascribes little value to that information, the contribution of performance management
to the functioning of democratic systems is questionable (Stiglitz et al. 2009).
Scholarly research studies the factors that may influence the credibility citizens ascribe to performance informa-
tion as well as the factors that influence their interpretations of that information and how these interpretations
affect their evaluations of the performance of the public sector (Van Ryzin and Lavena 2013; James and Van Ryzin
2017a, 2017b). Yet, there is much less focus on whether citizens believe that performance information influences
their lives and is beneficial in any meaningful way. We question whether citizens feel that such information actually
affects their lives and attempt to identify the factors that may influence these perceptions. We assume that people
who feel that certain information has a real impact on their lives also understand that they benefit from such
information.
To accomplish this goal, we utilize the motivated reasoning approach for information processing, which explains
people's information processing by their needs, drives, motives and goals (Kunda 1990; Taber and Lodge 2006;
James and Van Ryzin 2017b). For example, Baekgaard and Serritzlew (2015) emphasize the impact of citizens' prior
beliefs on their interpretation of performance information, implying that political or ideological perceptions affect
these interpretations (James and Moseley 2014; James and Van Ryzin 2017a; Christensen 2018). Others refer to the
relevance of psychological insights when studying performance information (James et al. 2016; Grimmelikhuijsen
and Knies 2017; Christensen 2018). However, performance management mechanisms themselves may mediate or
mitigate citizens' prior motives and their interpretation of the information they receive. For example, James and Van
Ryzin (2017b) conclude that performance information that focuses on citizens' use of and need for services will
reduce prior political biases in the interpretation of that information. We take this idea a step further and test
whether and how, given prior motives, goals and experience, a set of variables that together comprise the configura-
tion of performance information, influence citizens' perceptions about it.
We establish that in processing performance information citizens consider three main aspects: what is being
measured, who measures it and what is the trend of the results. Accordingly, we use a survey experiment among a
representative sample of the Israeli population that investigates three fundamental aspects of performance manage-
ment: (1) the object being assessed, meaning a local organization or national system; (2) who conducts and manages
the performance review, meaning elected officials or public administrators; and (3) the trend of the results that
appears in the indicator, meaning whether the measure indicates the improvement or deterioration of performance.
In addition, we compare two different sectors of public services—education and the police—to evaluate whether citi-
zens' interpretations differ according to the specific service area that is being measured.
Our findings indicate that overall, citizens feel that performance information has only a medium effect on their
lives (approximately 5 on a 1–10 scale), and assign a similar level of reliability to that information. In the police sector
the impact and reliability are higher than in the education sector. The configuration of performance information helps
explain this perceived impact only to a limited extent. These findings question the usefulness of performance
reporting mechanisms as a major tool for strengthening accountability, and raise serious doubts about the possible
ways to improve these mechanisms and make them more effective.
MIZRAHI AND MINCHUK141
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