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1 – 10 of over 2000Franziska Wallmeier and Julia Thaler
The design of participation processes influences their effectiveness. In light of processes which include both mandated and non-mandated direct participation and take place in…
Abstract
Purpose
The design of participation processes influences their effectiveness. In light of processes which include both mandated and non-mandated direct participation and take place in collaboration with other actors, adequate leadership roles are an indispensable but challenging process element. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how mayors exercise leadership roles in such processes and how this relates to effective participation processes.
Design/methodology/approach
Applying a qualitative comparative case study design (n=7), this study investigates mayors’ leadership roles relative to other actors’ roles in the process of establishing a community-owned wind farm. Data collection relied on 21 semi-structured interviews, triangulated with documentary analyses and nine field-level expert interviews.
Findings
Findings reveal mayors’ exclusive roles of guarantor, formal convener, facilitator, and sponsor based on authority. Mayors’ various shared roles relate primarily to non-mandated participation. Mayors face tensions in their role exercise due to citizens’ expectations and their personal involvement. They experience a positive impact of shared leadership on the effectiveness of the participation process.
Practical implications
Mayors need to exercise specific leadership roles relative to other actors to effectively manage participation processes. Adequate role exercise relates to sensitization and mobilization for the issue, weakened opposition, and project adjustment to citizen demands. A strategic approach to process design can support mayors in their leadership efforts.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the knowledge on mayors’ leadership roles in participation processes and concretizes tensions and effectiveness of collaborative leadership. The paper reflects on the inference of findings for administrators as compared to mayors.
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John Fenwick and Howard Elcock
Philosophers and political scientists have a long history of dealing with the difficult puzzle of leadership, and how it is to be distinguished from management and administration…
Abstract
Purpose
Philosophers and political scientists have a long history of dealing with the difficult puzzle of leadership, and how it is to be distinguished from management and administration. The purpose of this paper is to explore the question of whether the innovative role of elected executive mayor in England can be considered as leader or manager. The paper critically assesses the concept of leadership before using empirical evidence to come to conclusions about the current role of elected mayor, an office with an uncertain history and unclear future in English public sector leadership.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws from the authors’ qualitative interviews with mayors from the inception of the office to the recent past.
Findings
The study finds that elected executive mayors are both leaders and managers, but that the notion of leadership in the local public sector remains contested as the mayor is a part of a bureaucratic structure of administration which limits the exercise of leadership as outlined in the existing literature.
Research limitations/implications
As central government continues to advocate the expansion of the office of mayor, not least as part of English regional devolution, the study relates to future practice and to overall understanding of just what elected mayors do.
Practical implications
The paper provides useful insight into the forthcoming expansion of the mayoral system into the new Combined Authorities.
Originality/value
The paper provides original evidence about the faltering progress of the mayoral system in the English public sector.
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Purpose – The focus of this chapter is to establish a blueprint for effective Black leadership without compromising the interests of other racial and ethnic groups. A uniform…
Abstract
Purpose – The focus of this chapter is to establish a blueprint for effective Black leadership without compromising the interests of other racial and ethnic groups. A uniform approach has not been utilized to accomplish the “dual agenda” of representing majority and minority interests simultaneously, although most of our urban cities now consist of a plurality of Black, Latino, Asian, and Caucasian voters.Design/methodology/approach – Using the city of Buffalo and Mayor Brown as a case study, a content analysis was conducted on Mayor Brown’s upcoming career in politics as well as close coverage of his election and reelection bids. A descriptive analysis was also conducted on the election of first-time Black mayors in order to identify the style of leadership that is appropriate for a particular era.Findings – Some of the findings of this research confirmed that a city’s size, its predominant racial and ethnic makeup, the city’s regional location, the era that they were elected in, their professional experience, and prior elected positions continue to be influential factors in electing Black mayors. In each era however, there was a particular style of leadership that became a necessary element in electing and reelecting a Black mayor.Research limitations/implications – While this research relied mostly on a content analysis of Mayor Brown’s leadership and first-time Black mayors, it would have been better served if an in-depth interview was conducted with Mayor Brown himself. It is imperative for research that seeks to establish a blueprint to speak to the primary agents of that office as well as community leaders for an objective perspective.Practical implications – Aspiring politicians who wish to lead their cities will need to have a consistent plan that speaks to coalition building in order to solidify a diverse base of supporters. Also important is to be able to elect more Black mayors in a particular city that has been exposed to Black mayoral leadership shortly thereafter to build upon previous accomplishments.Originality/value – This chapter fulfills the need to accomplish the “dual agenda” of representing majority and minority interests simultaneously.
The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of the choices and difficulties at a city level that faced public leaders who were trying to pursue economic regeneration…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of the choices and difficulties at a city level that faced public leaders who were trying to pursue economic regeneration while at the same time coping with austerity policies introduced by national government.
Design/methodology/approach
We are using a case study approach to assess both the type of strategic leadership being offered and the public governance issues faced by Liverpool City.
Findings
In terms of leadership, the mayor fitted what we describe in the paper as the pragmatic type of strategic leader (long-term perspective providing foresight, and inclusiveness in formulating strategy and plans). The directly elected mayoral system seemed to have a number of advantages, perhaps the key one being that the mayor, acted for the entire city, rather than being the leader of the city council as he was before. New channels of social dialogue had been opened up, especially with the business community. The major difficulties in governance were the overstretched entrepreneurial and strategic capacity of the centre of the council and a lack of coherence in terms of multi-level governance.
Social implications
The approach to public leadership in Liverpool represents a major break from the past; it was a widening of political inclusiveness to embrace people with a range of political perspectives. It was also a major break from the past in terms of building good relations between public leaders and business leaders. The prize was economic regeneration to create a better platform for social and economic inclusiveness.
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Howard Elcock and John Fenwick
The paper aims to compare the office of directly elected mayor in England, Germany and the USA. Proposing and applying a conceptual model of government, governance and allegiance…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to compare the office of directly elected mayor in England, Germany and the USA. Proposing and applying a conceptual model of government, governance and allegiance, it assesses the leadership role of the elected mayor in the three countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative interviews were conducted with a sample of mayors in each country over a period of 11 years. These formed part of the authors' continuing research into local leadership and political management, which has also included interviews with ex‐mayors, elected representatives and senior officials.
Findings
The operation and success of the elected mayor in specific countries is influenced by formal variables (e.g. state constitutions, formal requirements) and informal relationships (e.g. with officials), represented in the distinction between structure and agency. The role of the individual mayor also varied in the light of local party affiliations. The paper considers the impact of these variables on the government, governance and allegiance functions of the elected mayor.
Research limitations/implications
In providing an analytical framework and in the discussion of original research, a basis is provided for the further study of the office of elected mayor in different national contexts. This is likely to prove valuable as the future of sub‐national government is subject to continuity scrutiny.
Practical implications
The adoption and growth of the elected mayoral system may be considered as an example of lesson drawing. This has both positive and negative implications. Positively, much can be learned from comparative experience. Mayoral systems have resulted in quicker decision making. The mayor provides a very visible form of local leadership and accountability. However, dangers lie in the over‐concentration of powers in the office of mayor and, in England especially, the failure of the mayoral system to enhance public engagement in local government.
Originality/value
The discussion will be of value to practitioners, policy‐makers and academic researchers who are concerned with the future of the elected local state and its office holders.
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The purpose of this empirical case study is to study and explain the role of public leadership in the expansion of municipal climate action in Canada.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this empirical case study is to study and explain the role of public leadership in the expansion of municipal climate action in Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
In 2017 and 2018, the authors conducted13 semi-directed interviews with municipal staff and elected officials from three municipalities, a documentary analysis of primary and secondary sources. Interviews and documentation collected were also coded using the software NVIVO 12. The authors compared three municipal case studies: the City of Toronto (Ontario), the City of Guelph (Ontario), and the Town of Bridgewater (Nova Scotia).
Findings
The authors found that leadership is a prominent factor explaining the expansion of municipal climate action in Canada. Municipal climate action is initiated and championed by an individual, elected officials or municipal staff, who lead and engage in the development of policy instruments to mitigate and/or adapt to climate change. These leaders facilitate the formulation and implementation of instruments, encourage a paradigm shift within the municipality, overcome structural and behavioural barriers, and foster collaboration around a common vision. Optimal municipal climate leadership occurs when the leadership of elected officials and municipal is congruent, though networks play a significant role by amplifying municipal sustainability leadership. They support staff and elected officials leadership within municipalities, provide more information and funding to grow the capacity of municipalities to develop instruments, to the point that conditions under which municipalities are driving climate action are changing.
Research limitations/implications
This paper hopes to contribute to better understand under what conditions municipalities drive change.
Originality/value
There is an international scholarly recognition that municipalities should be further explored and considered important actors in the Canadian and international climate change governance. Gore (2010) and Robinson and Gore (2015) highlighted that we are yet to understand the extent to which municipalities are involved in climate governance in Canada. This article directly addresses this gap in the current scholarly literature and explores the expansion of climate municipal leadership with the aspects of interviews.
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André C. B. de Aquino and Ricardo Lopes Cardoso
This chapter analyses the financial resilience pattern presented by four Brazilian municipalities at the beginning of a serious revenue downturn, which was initiated at the…
Abstract
This chapter analyses the financial resilience pattern presented by four Brazilian municipalities at the beginning of a serious revenue downturn, which was initiated at the central government as a combination of economic and political crises. The crisis occurred during an on-going public financial management reform and attempts to imbricate IPSAS-oriented accrual-accounting policies in a dominant cash-based budgeting culture. Thus, contrasting those patterns with other democracies depicted in this book, we aim to contribute to the comparative literature on financial resilience under austerity periods. We interviewed secretaries of finance, department directors and accountants of each city hall and businessmen from the four municipalities. Cases were selected among 100,000-350,000 inhabitants’ municipalities from one of the three most industrialised brazilian states, varying the cases according to their mean and volatility budgetary surplus over the 10 years before the beginning of the analysed crises. All cases presented no anticipatory capacity or long-term strategic planning. Their usual responses are short-term oriented, such as supplier payments postponement, increasing tax collection or cutting expenditures, rather than based on their weak transformative capacities. Despite the fatalistic and very ineffective reactive behaviours observed in two cases, a proactive mayor, supported by consulting firms, enhanced the responses effectiveness of the two remaining cases. Hence, mayor leadership might be a fruitful feature to be investigated by future studies.
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