AUTHOR=Yuan Shuai , Chen Zhixia , Sun Mei 

TITLE=Discretion: Whether and How Does It Promote Street-Level Bureaucrats' Taking Charge Behavior?

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.805872

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2022.805872

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>The extant pieces of literature on discretion has mainly focused on its effect on policy implementation and public service delivery, but few studies have looked at its influence on street-level bureaucrats' work behavior, such as taking charge behavior (TCB), which is of great importance for government reforms, especially in developing and transitional countries. Based on the self-determination theory, this study examines whether and how discretion promotes street-level bureaucrats' TCB. Two studies were conducted among street-level bureaucrats in China. First, a survey experiment (<italic>n</italic> = 355) suggests that discretion positively predicts street-level bureaucrats' TCB. Then, a survey questionnaire study (<italic>n</italic> = 442) shows that discretion is positively related to TCB through the mediator of public service motivation (PSM). We concluded with implications for theory and practice.</p>