Discussing municipal performance alternatives. Public perceptions of municipal services delivery in Lithuania

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-01-2017-0011
• Date: 14 May 2018
• Pages: 525-542
• Published date: 14 May 2018
• Author: Jurga Bucaite Vilke,Mantas Vilkas
• Subject Matter: Public policy & environmental management,Politics,Public adminstration & management

Discussing municipal

performance alternatives

Public perceptions of municipal services

delivery in Lithuania

Jurga Bucaite Vilke

Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Vytauto Didziojo Universitetas,

Kaunas, Lithuania, and

Mantas Vilkas

School of Business and Economics, Kauno Technologijos Universitetas, Kaunas,

Lithuania

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to focus on the determinants of satisfaction with municipal services

by local inhabitants in Lithuania. Specifically, the paper seeks to disclose the relations between the

importance that citizens attribute to the objectives of a municipality, satisfaction with services, the perception

of quality of life and socio-demographic characteristics of local inhabitants.

Design/methodology/approach –The theoretical assumptions were tested using the quantitative data of

public opinion survey in Lithuania conducted in 2016. The representative sample (n¼1,006) consisting

respondents over the age of 18 years old was collected using the personal interview method in households

from different municipalities. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was employed to specify the

constructs of the model. The structural equation modeling allowed revealing the relations between

the importance of municipal objectives, satisfaction with services and infrastructure, the perception of quality

of life and socio-demographic characteristics of citizens.

Findings –The findings indicate that there is a weak positive relation among the importance of municipal

objectives and satisfaction with municipal services and infrastructure in case of Lithuania. There is a medium

positive relation between satisfaction with services and infrastructure and perception of quality of life.

The authors find that citizens living in cities attribute higher importance to the objectives of a municipality.

The expectations increase within the age. The authors also find that residents living in cities are less satisfied

(comparing to citizens living in towns and rural areas) with municipal services. The results indicate that

citizens working in the private sector are less satisfied (comparing to unemployed citizens) with municipal

services. The authors also find that such variables as education, age and income has a positive influence on

the perception of quality of life.

Research limitations/implications –Furtherresearch may specify the connection betweenthe importance

of municipal objectives, satisfaction with services, quality of life and socio-demographic characteristics more

precisely.Specifically, the construct of theimportance of municipal objectiveswas explained best as one factor

due to the selectionof objectives constitutingthe construct in the questionnaire. More precise measurement of

the construct mayreveal the agenda pursued by citizens and its relation to thesocio-demographic factors.

Practical implications –The research reveals that satisfaction with municipal services and infrastructure

is an important predictor of perceived quality of life for Lithuanians citizens on the local level. It sends an

important signal to policymakers indicating that citizens that are living in cities, working in private sector feel

less satisfied compared to other groups of inhabitants in rural areas. It also provides evidence that different

profiles of socio-demographic characteristics should also be considered more carefully while designing

responsive service provision systems in municipalities.

Originality/value –The paper provides a theoretical and methodological perspective that relates

importance of municipal objectives, satisfaction with municipal services, infrastructure and perceived quality

of life of local inhabitants. Moreover, it emphasizes the importance of socio-demographic characteristics of for

municipal agenda and design of provision of public services.

Keywords Quality of life, Citizen satisfaction, Municipal services provision

Paper type Research paper International Journal of Public

Sector Management

Vol. 31 No. 4, 2018

pp. 525-542

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0951-3558

DOI 10.1108/IJPSM-01-2017-0011

Received 4 January 2017

Revised 12 May 2017

29 June 2017

Accepted 2 July 2017

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-3558.htm

The research was supported by the Lithuania Council of Science under Grant “Mayors in Lithuania:

Political Leadership in Local Government”(No. MIP-031/2015).

525

Discussing

municipal

performance

alternatives

1. Introduction

Numerous studies in public management and public administration demonstrate that the

perception of public services delivery is mostly based on implications of different

managerial practices and deconstruction of governance arrangements (Walsh, 1995;

Christensen and Lægreid, 2002). The notion of “citizen as a customer”became central to the

idea of new public management. The idea that managerial and administrative practices

significantly influence both the effective provision and customers’satisfaction encouraged

the theoretical discussion on how to measure the different phases of public services process

(Barzelay and Armajani, 1992). The main theoretical debates include what measurement

tools should be applied assessing the satisfaction level with public services, how to define

the quality of services, which indicators best reflect the expectations and needs of citizens,

how to evaluate the specificity of localities. However, the research focused mainly on the

deconstruction of services delivery performance rather than evaluating citizen expectations

and perceptions of what residents need and how they understand the objectives of

self-government (Osborne and Gaebler, 1992; Pollitt, 1993). One of the options was to

integrate the citizen satisfaction level using the factor of subjective quality of life

(e.g. Van Ryzin, 2004, 2008 ;Sirgy et al., 2000;Sirgy and Cornwell, 2001; Sirgy et al., 2008).

The other option included the use of multiple relationships between services performance

measures on different phases, including planning, implementation and assessment and

citizen subjective perceptions (see, e.g. Kelly and Swindell, 2002a, b; James, 2009).

Some previous research in Lithuania mostly addressed the broader issues in public sector

modernization, including the scope and consequences of self-government reforms. The other

part of research focused on the relation betweenthe effectiveness of public sectorand quality

of public services, the options to increase the services provision implementation process,

citizen satisfaction with the quality of different public services (Raipa, 2009; Smalskys and

Skietrys, 2008; Guogis and Gudelis, 2003; Nakrošis, 2011; Merkys and Brazienė, 2009).

In this paper, we focus on the determinants of municipal services satisfaction by local

inhabitants. Specifically, we seek to disclose the relations between the importance of how

citizens evaluate the objectives of a municipality, satisfaction with services, perception of quality

of life and socio-demographic characteristics of local inhabitants’in Lithuania. Moreover, we

also highlight the external contextual factors which define the specificity of municipal services

provision in a country, particularly, focusing on the demographic changes in regions, a scope of

municipal objectives, municipal fiscal autonomy level, budgeting tensions and public trust level.

We use the frameworkof expectancy-disconfirmation andbottom-up spillover approachas

a theoreticalexplanation gluing the concepts of the importance of objectivesof a municipality,

satisfaction with services and quality of life. The question of how to evaluate local services

delivery process leads to a more complex understanding of citizen participation level in

localities, social capital dimensionsand co-production of public services on a municipal level.

The paper presents the empirical evidence based on the representative public opinion

survey in Lithuania which was conducted in February and March 2016. A total of

1,006 responses were received using personal interview data collection method (respondents

over 18 years old). The timing of the survey helps to evaluate the possible post-reform

outcomes of newly introduced direct mayor elections reform in 2015 which was

enthusiastically welcomed by local inhabitants. The key question of the survey was to

investigate the opinion of Lithuanian inhabitants on local political leadership and

self-government reforms, including the role of municipalities as a main provider

and executive of local services delivery. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis

was employed to specify the constructs of the importance of municipal objectives and

satisfaction with services. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the statistical

relationship between the importance of objectives of the municipality, satisfaction with

services, quality of life and socio-demographic factors of local inhabitants.

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