Samenvatting

This article reports on an exploratory study into the characteristics of administrative cultures in Dutch municipalities and provinces. The central questions were: which characteristics of administrative cultures are distinguished in practice and to what extent are there differences in this respect between types of government and between different officials in municipalities and provinces? Administrative cultures in Dutch municipalities and provinces appear to be distinguishable according to the extent to which they are people oriented and customised (community culture), debates and procedures (debate culture) or chaos and conflict (arena culture). Administrative culture can be described as a three-dimensional concept. This characterisation can help to describe the administrative cultures of municipalities and provinces more accurately, so that their functioning can be better understood. There appear to be significant differences between representatives, administrators and civil servants in terms of the extent to which people experience a particular administrative culture. The differences between members of the opposition and the coalition are particularly striking. The perceived administrative culture also appears to be a political fact: the distribution of political and administrative power determines the extent to which people experience the different dimensions of the administrative culture.