Reputation of Public Administration: Agriculture-Related Agencies in Poland Seen Through Farmers' Eyes

The paper presents the concept of organisation reputation and applies it to public sector organisations focusing on administrative-type agricultural agencies. The research is qualitative and exploratory. To test the reputation in practice, a study measuring the reputation of two Polish agricultural agencies (Agricultural Market Agency and Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture) among farmers was carried out in 2006/2007 and 2010/2011. Only farmers with frequent interaction (contact) with the agencies in question were selected. Farmers being frequent customers are familiar with the agencies, have gained experience of and have observed them over time. The results of the study revealed that the agencies had neutral or a somewhat positive reputation and they had somewhat improved it since 2007. These findings suggest that agencies might improve reputation by being more responsive to the needs of their clients. The issues addressed in this paper are relevant for future research on reputation in the government administration context.