Citizens' perceptions of the legitimacy of independent agencies: The effects of expertise‐based and reputation‐sourced authority.
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| Title: | Citizens' perceptions of the legitimacy of independent agencies: The effects of expertise‐based and reputation‐sourced authority. |
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| Authors: | Rimkutė, Dovilė1 (AUTHOR) d.rimkute@fgga.leidenuniv.nl, Mazepus, Honorata2 (AUTHOR) h.mazepus@uva.nl |
| Source: | Public Administration Review. Sep/Oct2025, Vol. 85 Issue 5, p1495-1511. 17p. |
| Subject Terms: | Reputation, Independent regulatory commissions, Citizen attitudes, Legitimacy of governments, Power (Social sciences), Public opinion polls, Rational-legal authority |
| Company/Entity: | European Food Safety Authority |
| Abstract: | Legitimacy is a central concern for independent agencies tasked with shaping policies. While expertise‐based and reputation‐sourced authority bases are assumed to be relevant for agency legitimacy, their individual and joint effects on citizens' perceptions lack comprehensive examination. To address this gap, the study integrates insights from bureaucratic politics, bureaucratic reputation, and cognitive psychology. Our survey experiment with Dutch citizens, focusing on the European Food Safety Authority, suggests that expertise‐based authority positively affects perceived agency legitimacy, while a negative reputation has detrimental effects. Furthermore, expertise‐based authority moderates the impact of reputation, amplifying positive effects and mitigating negative ones. This implies that agencies are more susceptible to reputational threats when they lack expertise‐based authority. The study advances the theoretical tenets of bureaucratic reputation theory and offers effective strategies for agencies to strengthen their legitimacy among the most critical audience in democratic political systems—citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Public Administration Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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