The Paradox of Performance Regimes: Strategic Responses to Target Regimes in Chinese Local Government

Numerous studies have shown that rewarding or penalizing public officials for their performance in a mechanical fashion may have perverse effects, as evidenced by the strategic responses to imposed targets demonstrated by those exposed to the measurement process. Focusing attention on performance evaluation practices in Chinese local government, this research finds that implementing quantitative measurement in local authorities has triggered multiple strategic responses. Drawing on these insights from an institutional logics perspective, the study attempts to provide a theoretical account of the underlying mechanism that has led to repeatedly observed instances of organizational cheating.