Examining Red Tape in Public and Private Organizations: Alternative Explanations from a Social Psychological Model

A number of recent empirical studies have examined red tape in public and private organizations. Consistent with the heavy emphasis in the public administration literature on the distinctive institutional context of public organizations, most of these studies focus on the system rather than the individual. In this study we seek to uncover the blind spot regarding individual differences in extant theoretical models for explaining red tape. We develop and test a social psychological model for red tape using individual differences in alienation. The study's results show that alienation is as strong a predictor of red tape as are sector and size. Based on these results, we conclude that theoretical models for explaining red tape as well as practical strategies to ameliorate red tape will fall short of their goals if the individual is ignored and the focus is exclusively on the system.