Specifying and Testing a Multi-Dimensional Model of Publicness: An Analysis of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities

Abstract

This study specifies and tests a multi-dimensional model of publicness, building upon extant literature in this area. Publicness represents the degree to which an organization has "public" ties. An organization's degree of publicness is theoretically associated with four dimensions: political authority, social equity, external engagement, and transparency. In other words, an organization's publicness is collectively based on the extent to which it is subject to political authority (Bozeman, 1987), as well as its level of: social equity; engagement with external enterprises that compel "morally governed behavior" (e.g., accreditation agencies); and openness. Data on public and private (for-profit and non-profit) mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities collected from the 2011 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) provides the basis for conducting a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). In addition, interviews with 21 senior managers of mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities throughout all regions of the United States are conducted and analyzed using general deductive analysis to understand the dimensions associated with publicness. Considered together, quantitative and qualitative findings demonstrate support for a multi-dimensional conception of publicness. Specifically, quantitative findings support a three-factor structure--where the dimensions of political authority, social equity, and external engagement are distinct but related to aspects of publicness. Qualitative findings support the originally hypothesized four-factor structure. The multi-dimensional model of publicness expands understanding of what constitutes a "public" organization beyond its governmental features (e.g., public ownership and public funding). In addition, multi-dimensional publicness may provide a more nuanced understanding of the full range of institutional features that distinctly shape organizational behaviors and performance outcomes of public value. Therefore, this study concludes by highlighting the public management implications associated with an organization's publicness.