Public Administration as an Interdisciplinary Field: Assessing Its Relationship with the Fields of Law, Management, and Political Science

• Date: 01 January 2011
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2010.02310.x
• Published date: 01 January 2011
• Author: Bradley E. Wright

Rethinking Public

Administration

as an

Interdisciplinary

Field

Bradley E. Wright is an associate profes-

sor of political science at the University of

North Carolina at Charlotte. His research

focuses on how employee attitudes and

behavior are inf‌l uenced by the interaction

between employee characteristics and the

organizational work environment. His most

recent research focuses on public service

motivation, transformational leadership,

and performance management. His work

has been published in Administration &

Society, American Review of Public

Administration, Journal of Public

Administration Research and Theory,

and Public Administration Review.

E-mail: bwright@uncc.edu

96 Public Administration Review • January | February 2011

Bradley E. Wright

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Public administration is an interdisciplinary  eld,

building on a variety of disciplinary approaches

and values. But how well does the  eld of public

administration re ect those values and processes? In

contrast to previous arguments regarding the degree

to which the  eld does or should incorporate values

and lessons from other academic disciplines, this

study provides a systematic assessment of the  eld’s

reliance on research and theory from the  elds of law,

management, and political science. An analysis of

journal citations across these  elds suggests that research

in public administration is largely isolated from the

three disciplines that are commonly believed to form its

foundation.

Public administration is an interdisciplinary

 eld that builds on a variety of disciplinary

approaches and values (Kettl and Milward

1996; Rosenbloom 1983). Even so, there are three

disciplines that form the underlying foundation of the

 eld. In addition to the traditional managerial empha-

sis on e ciency and e ectiveness, the  eld of public

administration is heavily in uenced by the represen-

tative and responsive nature

of our political system, as well

as our legal system’s emphasis

on individual rights and social

equity.  us, public administra-

tion is an interdisciplinary  eld,

de ned by the need to address

con icting political, legal, and

managerial values and processes

(Rosenbloom 1983).

But exactly how well does the

 eld of public administration

re ect those values and proc-

esses? Several scholars have sug-

gested that the  eld has ignored

key managerial (Kelman 2007),

political (Appleby 1945; Box et

al. 2001; Sayre 1958), or legal

values and processes (Box et al.

2001; Moe and Gilmour 1995; Rosenbloom 2007).

Others have criticized the  eld for failing to keep up

with the theoretical (Rhodes 1991; Van Wart 2003;

Wright 2001) and methodological (Brower, Abola a,

and Carr 2000; Cozetto 1994; Houston and Del-

evan 1990, 1994; Rhodes 1991; White, Adams, and

Forrester 1996; Wright, Manigault, and Black 2004)

approaches of relevant disciplines. While arguments

about the relative importance or prevalence of these

disciplines are useful in keeping the  eld balanced,

such arguments are inevitably subjective and tend

to begin with base assumptions that favor one set of

disciplinary values over another. Arguments regarding

the  eld’s failure to keep up with the contemporary

theory and research of relevant disciplines can be

supported by data, but usually are made on a topic-

by-topic basis and are prone to counterarguments

regarding that topic’s relative worth or applicability

in the public administration context.  e objective of

either argument, however, is to redirect the e orts of

the  eld.

 e objective of this research note is not so ambitious.

In contrast to previous norma-

tive arguments regarding what

the  eld should or should not

do, the current study informs

these prescriptions for the

 eld by providing a broad but

systematic assessment of the

 eld’s reliance on the  elds of

law, management, and politi-

cal science. In other words, it

describes the degree to which

the interdisciplinary  eld of

public administration imports

lessons from (or exports lessons

to) other key disciplines. It is

hoped that such a descriptive

analysis can help inform and

guide future discussions regard-

ing the development of public

administration as a  eld.

Public Administration as an Interdisciplinary Field: Assessing

Its Relationship with the Fields of Law, Management, and

Political Science

In contrast to previous

normative arguments regarding

what the  eld should or should

not do, the current study

informs these prescriptions for

the  eld by providing a broad

but systematic assessment of the

 eld’s reliance on the  elds of

law, management, and political

science. In other words, it

describes the degree to which the

interdisciplinary  eld of public

administration imports lessons

from (or exports lessons to)

other key disciplines.