Social Context of Administrative Organizations: An Analysis of Participants in E-consultations in Croatia

  • Petra Đurman post-doctoral researcher, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Keywords: social context, administrative organizations, e-consultations, charateristics of e-consultations, empirical research, Croatia

Abstract

Social context, which refers to the public / citizens, is a very heterogeneous and dynamic area of administrative organizations' environment. Its relevance for the functioning of administrative organizations is constantly increasing in contemporary public administration due to expanding requirements for responsiveness towards citizens' preferences. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the social context of Croatian administrative organizations by analysing the characteristics of participants in e-consultations, i.e., the public involved in the process of policy formulation. Analysed characteristics include the number of participants, their structure (type of stakeholder,) and the type of comments they submit. These characteristics represent indicators of the intensity, organization degree, and the level of competence of the relevant social environment of administrative organizations. Empirical research encompassed quantitative content analysis of e-consultation reports in the period 2016-2018. The research findings suggest that the characteristics of social context are largely determined by organizational factors - the level of politico-administrative system, the type, and the function of an organization. In addition, it appears that the characteristics of social context (the level of organization and competence) are interrelated, too.

Published
2021-03-26
Section
Articles