Document Type : Research Article (with mixed approaches)

Authors

• Masoome Momenimofrad ¹
• Reza Sepahvand ²
• Seyed Najmedin Mousavi ³
• Hojat Vahdati ³

¹ PhD student in public administration, Faculty of Management and Economics, Lorestan University, Lorestan, Iran.

² Professor of the Faculty of Management and Economics, Lorestan University, Lorestan, Iran.

³ Associate Professor, Faculty of Management and Economics, Lorestan University, Lorestan, Iran.

Abstract

Purpose: All people deal with numerous governmental agencies daily, to the extent that these governmental agencies have become part of people's lives. This reality is more evident in Iran due to the high volume of government activities and the so-called "big government." Governorates, headed by the governor, are responsible for implementing and overseeing government activities in each province separately. Therefore, given the high volume of public interaction with government agencies in Iranian society, the optimal performance of governorates in general and the governors themselves as the helmsmen of this governmental institution has become very important. Accordingly, the main issue that will lead to this study is the lack of existing awareness regarding the performance evaluation of governors. It is unclear on what basis governors' performance is evaluated and on what basis the rankings and results presented by statistical centers are based. Therefore, this study is conducted in two steps. In the first step, the performance evaluation model for governors is designed and modeled by identifying the components and indicators involved in it; in the second step, the extracted research model is validated.
Design/ methodology/ approach:  The present research is based on the interpretive-positivist paradigm and a mixed approach, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Also, the strategy of this research is inductive. The qualitative study population in this research consists of all university professors in the field of public administration and strategic management, governors of the Islamic Republic of Iran government, and senior managers of the Ministry of Interior. To design the model for this research, interviews continued based on the snowball sampling method until theoretical saturation; therefore, the number of participants in this study has been 18 people. In this section, the statistical population consisted of experts knowledgeable about the subject, such as governors of the Islamic Republic of Iran government, deputies, and senior managers of governorates of the Islamic Republic of Iran government. Sampling was done using a non-probabilistic convenience method, and finally, 48 people from the target statistical population were determined as the research sample. In order to model the identified dimensions of performance evaluation, the opinions of experts who have had an active executive role were used, as these individuals have been closely involved in management activities at the macro-governmental level and have practical familiarity with performance evaluation processes. Another indicator in determining the sample size in this section was the accessibility to such experts, which ultimately led to 48 people being determined as the sample in this regard.
Research Findings: The analysis of data from the interviews ultimately led to the identification of 12 main categories as dimensions of governors' performance evaluation. In total, the dimensions of governors' performance evaluation were classified into five levels. Accordingly, geographical knowledge was considered the most influential factor, and stakeholder satisfaction, political participation, and productivity were considered the most affected factors. Given that significance levels less than 0.05 were obtained, consequently, non-parametric tests must be used. In this regard, structural equation modeling with a partial least squares approach is used. The average social capital shows that in the statistical population under study, this concept is not at a desirable level. Also, geographical knowledge and welfare development show above-average values, and the rest of the variables are at an average level.
Limitations & Consequences: Given the purpose of this study, access to experts who could help with the process of this study has been difficult.
Practical Consequences: The findings of this study provide the following suggestions for policymakers and country governorates to utilize:

Periodic analysis of geographical areas of provinces using the SWOT matrix method to identify regional strengths and weaknesses as well as understand future opportunities and threats for targeting;
Establishing a safety and health working group in governorates under the management of governors to identify health weaknesses at the provincial level and strive to solve these problems through planning and seeking advice from experts in this field at the provincial level;
Government officials' efforts to use native governors in each province for better alignment with the region and better understanding of economic opportunities;

Innovation or value of the Article: The present study is the first study that presents a model for evaluating the performance of governors.
Paper Type: Original Paper
 

Keywords

• Function
• Performance Evaluation
• Governors
• Government of The Islamic Republic of Iran