Emotional governance at the street level: a content analysis of service slogans in China

Abstract This paper explores emotional governance in Chinese street-level bureaucracy by conducting a content analysis of service slogans. Emotional governance involves the use of emotional management strategies in the process of public administration, with the goal of influencing interactions between administrators and citizens to achieve desired policy outcomes. We gathered service slogans from the social media accounts of public service agencies. Through content analysis, this study identifies common emotional governance strategies and discusses the implications for administrator-citizen interactions. Building upon the findings and relevant literature, this paper proposes recommendations to help Chinese street-level bureaucracy “walk the talk,” emphasizing the hands-on practice of effective emotional governance through managing employees’ emotional labor. The significance of this research lies not only in providing practical guidance for managers seeking to enhance public service performance but also in contributing to our understanding of emotional governance, an area that remains under-researched.