A cognitive network perspective for public administration and policy

• Published date: 01 January 2024
• Author: Güneş Ertan,Michael D. Siciliano
• Date: 01 January 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13639

CONCEPTUALIZING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

A cognitive network perspective for public administration

and policy

Güne¸s Ertan

1

| Michael D. Siciliano

2

1

Department of International Relations,

Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey

2

Department of Public Administration,

University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago,

Illinois, USA

Correspondence

Güne¸s Ertan, Department of International

Relations, Koç University, Istanbul, 34450,

Turkey.

Email: gunesertan@ku.edu.tr

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of cognitive social structures to public adminis-

tration and policy scholars. Cognitive social structures are the perceptions, or men-

tal maps, actors hold of the relationships that exist among the members of their

network. These perceptions and their accuracy have implications for actor behav-

ior, decisions, and outcomes. The literature on network cognitions has developed

in the fields of psychology and organization studies but has yet to be applied in

public administration and policy. We provide an overview of cognitive social struc-

ture research. We then demonstrate the theoretical and practical implications cog-

nitive social structures hold for our field by examining applications in two research

areas—implementation and leadership. We argue that using a network cognition

perspective can help researchers and practitioners to better explain and pursue

important organizational and interorganizational phenomena. We hope this article

fosters new dialogue on the role of network cognitions in public administration

and policy.

Evidence for practice

•Public managers operating in networked contexts need different skills and

capacities to be effective. How public managers perceive and understand the

structure of formal and informal relations among critical actors is one of the

essential inputs that determine decision-making.

•This article introduces the concept of cognitive social structures to public admin-

istration and policy scholars. Cognitive social structures are the perceptions, or

mental maps, actors hold of the relationships that exist among the members of

their network.

•Incorporating network cognition into research and practice using the cognitive

social structures perspective can improve individual and collective decision-

making processes.

•Policy implementation and leadership are two prominent fields that can benefit

from the cognitive social structures perspective.

•Gender and racial biases can lead to misperceptions of an individual’s structural

position in a network. Systematic underestimation of one’s centrality, brokerage,

or social capital has implications for equity and inclusion in governance networks.

INTRODUCTION

W. I. Thomas notably posited, “If men define situations

as real, they are real in their consequences.”Building

on this idea, network scholars have argued that how

people perceive the relations in a network can have

more significant implications for their attitudes and

behaviors than the actual structure of the network

(Krackhardt, 1987,1990). This strand of research,

known as network cognition, has developed in man-

agement, psychology, and organization studies. The

mental maps actors form of their social surroundings,

known as cognitive social structures (CSS), shape their

choice of relations, perceptions of others, performance,

and capacity to act (Casciaro, 1998; Kilduff &

Krackhardt, 2008).

Received: 20 July 2022 Revised: 15 February 2023 Accepted: 13 March 2023

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13639

Public Admin Rev. 2024;84:11–20. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/puar © 2023 American Society for Public Administration. 11