Conceptualizing the Street‐Level Bureaucrat Construct

ABSTRACT Differences among street‐level bureaucrats—across professions, institutional settings, regions, and countries—are largely overlooked in research. We propose conceptualizing the street‐level bureaucrat construct as a general variable that varies across institutional settings, professions, cultures, times, and locations. We analyze variations in street‐level bureaucrats along two main dimensions: discretion and frontline‐ness. We also identify sub‐dimensions of discretion and frontline‐ness. Discretion sub‐dimensions include goal ambiguity, performance accountability complexity, organizational rule structures, and professionalism. Frontline‐ness varies in closeness to clients, contact frequency, and emotional and relational embeddedness with clients. This framework for conceptualizing street‐level bureaucrats as a general variable is particularly useful for understanding variation across types, professions, states, and countries, providing a fertile basis for comparative research on street‐level bureaucrats.