More "Government", less "Governance": Chinese public employees' preferences for governing public service delivery

In recent years, Chinese public sectors have adopted various innovative approaches to govern public service delivery. Using the Q methodology, this contribution examines Chinese public employees' preferences for governing public service delivery. It identifies four institutional assemblages: dominant controller, prudent manager, equal coproducer, and coupled supervisor. It concludes that public employees in China generally have a strong preference for the integrated approach and dislike the coproduction approach and the community approach. This conclusion corresponds with general impressions on Chinese governance. This study enriches existing theoretical understandings about the governance of public service delivery and provides insights for practitioners to design appropriate institutions to achieve satisfactory public service delivery.