‘Profiting from at least one side’: goal conflict, performance feedback, and data manipulation

This study examines how governments manipulate data in response to performance feedback under conflicting goals. Based on a game-theoretic framework and panel data from 168 Chinese cities between 2014 and 2019, we find that governments often seek to secure success in at least one policy area by inflating or suppressing performance data. These behaviors reflect both positive and negative data manipulation. The study contributes to the theoretical understanding of how performance feedback influences gaming behavior in public management and highlights the strategic responses of governments under competing goals.