Mission, Effectiveness, and Commitment: Understanding the Mediating Effects of Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Coping Behaviors

The coping behaviors of street-level bureaucrats have received increasing attention in the past decade. Although recent literature has explored the classification of coping behaviors and their antecedents, little is known about how coping behaviors connect street-level bureaucrats’ mission attachment, their enforcement effectiveness, and psychological commitment to the organization. In this study, we developed a conceptual framework examining the mediating effects of “moving against regulatees,” a coping behavior characterized by rigid enforcement of rules. Using survey data collected from frontline environmental law enforcement officers in China, we found that a strong attachment to the mission was positively related to the coping behavior of moving against regulatees. This behavior was also associated with increased enforcement effectiveness but decreased organizational commitment. The results highlight that, although moving against regulatees is positively associated with immediate enforcement outcomes, it may have a negative association with enforcement performance in the long run by eroding organizational commitment among street-level bureaucrats.