Administrative Styles of International Organizations : Can We Find Them, Do They Matter?

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that International Public Administrations (IPA) are of growing relevance for global public policy-making. Yet, the sources of organizational variation in global public policy-making have scarcely been explored. To overcome this gap, this chapter systematically develops an indicator-based, three phase-concept of ‘Administrative Styles’ as a dependent variable. By drawing on insights from the organizational theory and administrative science, we then define four ideal types—policy entrepreneur, institutional and policy entrepreneur, institutional entrepreneur, and servant—and identify determinants that can account for their variation. Drawing on expert interviews with IPA staff, we empirically illustrate our concept by presenting empirical evidence on the Bank for International Settlement, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.