New Research Article: "Bureaucratic Capacity and Autonomy as Drivers of Innovation Climate"

Rutgers SPAA Associate Professor Ricardo A. Bello-Gomez and Mauricio Astudillo-Rodas, assistant professor at Florida State University and Rutgers SPAA PhD alumnus, have published a new article, “Bureaucratic Capacity and Autonomy as Drivers of Innovation Climate,” in the International Journal of Public Administration.

What makes public organizations conducive to innovation? Their study examines how bureaucratic capacity and autonomy shape public employees’ perceptions of an organizational climate that encourages innovation.

Drawing on more than 30,000 survey responses from public employees across Colombia's 32 departmental governments (2015–2023), the study finds that:

Bureaucratic autonomy matters: Employees in organizations with less political interference report stronger innovation climates.

Organizational capacity matters, but how it is measured is important: Employees’ perceptions of adequate personnel, resources, and technology are positively associated with innovation climate, while some objective indicators are not.

The findings highlight the importance of looking beyond leadership and managerial practices to understand public sector innovation. The institutional conditions under which bureaucracies operate—particularly their capacity and insulation from political influence—also shape whether employees perceive opportunities to innovate. This study also contributes to Professor Bello-Gomez’s broader research agenda of advancing public administration theory by drawing on the distinctive institutional and organizational realities of Latin American governments to inform debates that extend beyond the region.

Read the article here: https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2026.2733756