"Operational Innovation":A Study of Township Government Behavior in the Transition of County-Township Relations
Bureaucratic organizations are naturally inert and often resistant to adopting new procedures or models.However,at present,Chinese township governments exhibit a substantial amount of innovative behavior.Based on an in-depth investigation of the"operational innovation"behavior of township governments,this article elaborates and analyzes the main types,driving mechanisms,and institutional environment of innovation in these governments.The innovation of township governments is primarily categorized into three types:governance-oriented innovation,policy-oriented innovation,and political-oriented innovation.Among these,task-oriented policy innovation and performance-oriented political innovation are the main directions of"operational innovation"by township governments.While they drive township work and stimulate grassroots governance vitality,they also bring about significant formalism and squeeze the space for demand-oriented governance innovation.The driving mechanisms for township operational innovation include the legitimacy-convergence mechanism,efficiency-pressure mechanism,and performance-competition mechanism.The current transition of county-township relations has created an institutional environment that institutionalizes and formalizes operational innovation behavior in townships.The analysis presented in this article aligns with institutional theory regarding the proposition that innovation within bureaucratic organizations need to combine with layers and rules,and need special incentive,contributing to further theoretical research and understanding of township government behavior.
government innovationgovernment behaviorbureaucratic organizationattention allocationcounty-township relations
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
