Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/306302 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Citation: 
[Journal:] Journal of Business Economics [ISSN:] 1861-8928 [Volume:] 93 [Issue:] 1 [Publisher:] Springer [Place:] Berlin, Heidelberg [Year:] 2022 [Pages:] 173-192
Publisher: 
Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Abstract: 
This paper analyses the impact of the use of digital communication tools in administrative procedures on the effectiveness of local administrative authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. It considers COVID-19-driven changes in the legal competence of the institutional unit and administrative authorities' orientation to good governance as mediators of this relationship. By applying partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to survey data (N = 610) from five central European countries, we show that the accelerated use of digitalized communication tools driven by the COVID-19 situation has a positive effect on the effectiveness of local administrative authorities. Our data also indicate that the new laws, instructions and good governance driven by the COVID-19 situation – based on mostly convergent administrative traditions and European trends – partially mediate the relationship between the use of digital communication tools and administrative effectiveness. These findings do not significantly differ between participating countries and bureaucratic traditions. Consequently, the COVID-19 crisis proved to be a joint facilitator of responsive public governance that remained compliant with the rule of law, regardless of whether the national administrative systems were traditionally more legalistically or managerially oriented.
Subjects: 
Local administrative authorities
COVID-19
Digitalization
Good governance
Comparative analysis
Central european countries
JEL: 
H12
K10
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.