Fiscal stress & street lighting choices in Britain: realities and the way forward

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Fiscal Stress & Street Lighting Choices in Britain:

Realities and The Way Forward

Essa M. Bataineh

C1570534/ CU

S4643569/ RU

Supervisors:

Dr. Oleg Golubchikov, Cardiff University

Dr. Mark Wiering, Radboud University

A dissertation submitted for the degree of

Masters of Science

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Acknowledgements

Firstly, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to both of my supervisors, Dr. Oleg Golubchikov and Dr. Mark Wiering, for their immense guidance and support throughout the process of completing this dissertation and beyond. Their guidance and feedback have been invaluable.

Secondly, I must express my gratitude to all the interviewees for their openness and thoughtful contributions. Their reflections and ideas are the substance of this study.

Thirdly, I would like to give a special thanks to Professor Richard Cowell who was always ready to help without any hesitation. I would also like to thank Dr. Danial Newman who I had the pleasure to work with last semester as well as all those at Sustainable Places Research Institute. Finally, special thanks to Savannah Symister for her assistance with proofreading this dissertation.

Finally, I cannot express how humbled and grateful I am to all the love and support I have had in Wales, the Netherlands, and from back home.

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TABLES & FIGURES

Table 1 Research sub-questions...19

Table 2 Policy documents...21

Table 3 Participants profile...23

Table 4 Policy reasoning for different street lighting choices...28

Table 5 Traces of policy diffusion in five localities...37

*** Figure 1 Urban Services & Fiscal Stress………17

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Abstract

Street lighting regimes in the U.K. are institutionally different and are both complex and controversial. Many factors go into making street lighting decisions especially with the absence of a statutory obligation on local authorities. As an urban service, street lighting has undergone revisions and debates in recent years, with an increased tendency among local authorities to apply part-night lighting or dimming regimes. This is of course alongside extended debates on Light-Emitting Diode (LED) where one can easily sense rage, accusations, and growing concerns. One can argue that there has been a wave of policy diffusion sweeping across the U.K. as many diverse cities and counties adopted similar changes. This study is taking a non-technical approach, meaning that the research is more focused on policy aspects and the decision-making processes.

This study serves to inform and uncover the situation of street lighting and provide an overview of the main policy drivers, whether economic, environmental, political, or societal. It draws on the literature on fiscal stress and austerity and argues that there is no one theory that accounts for or characterizes all that is involved with street lighting changes. Street lighting decisions are difficult to explain, executives-dominated, and do not follow an entirely rational model. Street lighting is ‘low hanging fruit’ for financially stressed authorities. The study highlights how policy makers are no longer concerned with the provision of services in the old-fashioned way, and shows how the ‘corporate mentality’ dominates the scene. Nine interviews were conducted in total and five policy documents were examined.

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Chapter (I) - Introduction

1.1 Context and research question

Together with national austerity cuts, rising operational costs and environmental enthusiasm are pressuring the capacity of cities to do business as usual. Amid challenging new realities, finding ways to adapt and persist is inevitable. Cost-cutting measures are implemented and thought of differently. While some cities resort to technologies to achieve greater efficiency, others simply fall short on providing services or raise taxes to combat their deficits. Neither way is strictly better; they all come with costs that citizenry bear eventually.

Street lighting regimes in the U.K. are institutionally different and are both complex and controversial. Many factors go into making street lighting decisions especially with the absence of a statutory obligation on local authorities. As an urban service, street lighting has undergone revisions and debates in recent years, with an increased tendency among local authorities to apply part-night lighting or dimming regimes. This is of course alongside extended debates on Light-Emitting Diode (LED) where one can easily sense rage, accusations, and growing concerns. One can argue that there has been a wave of policy diffusion sweeping across the U.K. as many diverse cities and counties adopted similar changes. This study is taking a non-technical approach, meaning that the research is more focused on policy aspects. The overarching research question of this study is: What are the driving mechanisms behind street lighting changes? There are two sub-questions to guide this study:

1. To what extent has fiscal stress influenced street lighting regimes?

2. What factors are associated with street lighting decision-making orientation?

1.2 Why this topic? Objectives and aims

It is the first instinct of many people I encountered writing this dissertation to wonder what it is that makes street lighting interesting. For many, streets are either lit or not, with little interest and understanding beyond. It is fascinating that even major changes to street lighting quality or levels go undetected in many times. There is certainly more to street lighting than meets the eye. The

environment, economy, health and safety, technology, and politics are all crucial elements in any street lighting decision-making.

Perhaps for an urban service that is largely taken for granted and unquestioned (Bouman, 1987), this is enough of a reason to be worthwhile. There are millions of streetlights across the U.K. with collective costs exceeding hundreds of millions of pounds every year. Moreover, this is a very timely study given all the policy implications and street lighting debates across the U.K. Whatever the status quo is, it is changing. This is the point of departure for this study, to understand these changes.

In 2011, Temple Group Ltd published a report for DEFRA reviewing what then was still road lighting trials and early initiatives (Lockwood et al., 2011). Arguably, another look is needed today because many of what was reported as trials matured, and it is time now explore the lessons learned. Furthermore, the report looked into the drivers for change but missed out on the decision-making processes.

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This study serves in part to inform and uncover the situation of street lighting and provide an overview of the main policy drivers, whether economic, environmental, political, or societal. The study is not about street lighting, so much so as it is concerned with how lighting fits into different local

authorities’ strategies or absence of strategies. It, by no means, advocates nor argues for or against any street lighting initiative be it, LED, part-night, dimming, or total switch-off. Instead, it seeks to show how the decision-making in this area is clashing.

This study serves as a window into critical decision-making cultures, as it pertains to the broader governance system in Britain. Against those who presume that everything is organised and handled in optimal ways locally, this study shows otherwise. This is a messy situation. Perhaps, the modest attempt to capture the messiness is a benefit to this study.

1.3 Background

For more than a century now, street lighting has been an inherent standardized feature of the urban landscape. Cities have made efforts to grow into dynamic bodies, alive at night. To that end, they historically provided street lighting, not only as “a passive form of social control”, but also as an urban luxury (Bouman, 1987, p.28). Streets were lit in poor and wealthy areas alike in order to foster a more safe and stable environment, also as dictated by equity concerns (ibid.). Some 122 years ago, streetlights and that nocturnal luxury captured the urban imagination of Richard Le Gallienne. His poem, ‘A Ballad of London’, celebrated artificiality and praised the “iron lilies of the Strand” (i.e. gaslights), which turned London into a “Great city of the midnight sun” (quoted in Schorske, 1998, p.51). In today’s world, street lighting is perhaps less of a luxury, and more of a basic feature. Indeed, its absence in human settlements is regarded as lacking basic services (UN-Habitat, 2004). Frankly, we have reached a point where the mainstream is well-lit cities where darkness, if any, is unusual and rather ‘artificial’.

Like many other components and services constituting contemporary streetscape, lighting often goes unnoticed unless disrupted (Nye, 2010). Local authorities hear from people whose concerns arise from faulty assets that are not illuminating properly. Yet, this is beginning to change as emerging controversial lighting policies have been fundamentally challenging a century of urban traditions and perception of modernity (Shaw, 2014). A street light that is not illuminating the way it used to, is not necessarily faulty. In Britain and elsewhere, local authorities are revisiting what was implicitly agreed upon as street lighting regimes. The ‘constant’, ‘one model fits all’ provision of service is fading away as part-night lighting, dimming, permanently switch-off, or Light-Emitting Diode (LED) and its variable lighting levels are emerging. So too are old-school practices and what seemed to be a consensus on how assets should be managed. Regardless of what motives may have been at play, street lighting regimes seem to be espousing the principle of ‘the right light, in the right place, at the right time, with the right control system’.

This study acknowledges that local authorities are under financial pressure, and by no means understate the magnitude of Britain’s climate of austerity. Indeed, it lays bare that a local authority is a “major focal point for the hardship synonymous with austerity” (Miller & Hokenstad, 2014, p.104). However, it brings into question why authorities are targeting street lighting from among many other potential cost saving areas. It is intriguing that different lighting regimes are emerging in localities that share many commons, and are few miles apart from one another. The climate of austerity may have gripped over the past few years, but that was imposed on everyone countrywide. This is to say that

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among those diverse regimes and varying responses to financial strains, there should be an optimum solution. This is not about a cause and effect, where we would argue that no money led to less lighting, but rather how authorities dealt with the situation.

The study concludes that street lighting decisions are difficult to explain, executives-dominated, and do not follow an entirely rational model. Street lighting is ‘low hanging fruit’ for financially stressed authorities. The study highlights how policy makers are no longer concerned with the provision of services in the old-fashioned way, and shows how the ‘corporate mentality’ dominates the scene.

1.4 Austerity, fiscal Stress, and street lighting: The Nexus

‘Recently, the terms "fiscal stress" or "fiscal shock" have been applied to the manifestations of austerity policies on local governments’

Miller & Hokenstad (2014, p.101) Since the formation of the Coalition government in 2010, drastic changes have occurred in the expenditure patterns as a climate of austerity has gripped (Levitas, 2012). The climate of austerity in today’s Britain is real. Some key findings from the National Audit Office [NAO] (2014) show that government funding to local authority was expected to fall 41% by 2015-16. While this may have triggered a set of budget control measures, the report goes on to show that “Locally-raised income has fallen and has not offset reductions in government funding”. The NAO report, therefore, states, “local authorities are showing persistent signs of financial stress, particularly metropolitan districts” (p.9). According to the NAO report, this has had tremendous effects on service provision across the U.K. This is because coping with such increasing reductions, was mainly via cut in spending, hence an impact on services. Individual discretionary services were targeted from among many, and some radical cases; ‘unplanned in-year actions’ were implemented to meet budget needs (ibid.).

The report concludes with an important ‘choice-driven’ aspect in discretionary service cuts; “local authorities have prioritised different service areas within their savings programmes” (NAO, 2014, P.24 our emphasis). Arguably, as evident in the planned switch-off or service reduction schemes, street lighting was not prioritised in many localities. While there is no academic study that statistically looked at how much fiscal stress affected street lighting, many newspaper articles show the severity of this affect. For instance, a recent article showed that half of the Welsh street lights are either switched off or dimmed (BBC, 2017). Another entry in The Telegraph reported that two-thirds of Councils in England were turned down (Ross, 2013).

1.5 Remark and structure

This study is built upon a simple argument: fiscal stress has affected street lighting service provision. There are three main concepts comprising this study. The first one is a climate of austerity that is fostering a state of local fiscal stress nationally. Secondly, cutbacks in spending and services, and an element of choice within local government to decide where and how to cut, bounded by certain parameters. Thirdly, local efforts to find “a painless alternative to the budget cutter's knife” (Moore , 1987), which are via innovation and collaboration. Those three ideas are discussed in the next chapter, before moving to Chapter (III) where research design and methodology is discussed. Chapter (IV) concludes with policy overview and the decision-making processes.

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Chapter (II) - Theoretical Overview

It is important at the outset of this chapter to be clear why this study consulted literature on fiscal stress. The rationale for this emanates from an observation that changes in street lighting regimes are often prompted by financial needs and budgetary discussions. Such changes are increasingly introduced as part of invest-to-save programmes or cut-to-save strategies. Both of which, are induced by a climate of austerity in today’s Britain. Budget cuts are hitting urban services hard in many sectors, and clearly responses and coping strategies vary. None of this is to say that other factors do not exist; it is the aim of this study to shed light on other factors.

This chapter examines how the literature links fiscal stress to urban service delivery. Scholars who set out to study different phenomena within the context of local authorities often begin by anatomizing such entities into a collection of systems. From there, they use General Systems Theory, explicitly or implicitly, to build on the premise that systems are organised, and thereby, local authorities are in principle organisations and have a choice. A similar stance is adopted here, though with little more explanation. Section 2.1 defines fiscal stress and paves the way to section 2.2 where local authorities are viewed as systems that have a choice and seek

equilibrium. Section 2.3 tries to make sense of how organisations behave under stress before it concludes with some reflections. Ultimately, section 2.4 brings about other alternatives than cutting or raising taxes by which authorities can escape austere climates.

2.1 What is fiscal stress?

The recent spate of severe economic crises brought about renewed attention to austerity and fiscal stress. A plethora of comparative analyses were conducted in attempts to understand how states behave at times of affliction. Despite a large body of literature, there remains great uncertainty, lack of consensus, and fragmentation as to what fiscal stress means or how to measure it (Rubin, 1982; Wolman, 1992). As opposed to nation-specific studies, comparative, cross-national studies tend to reduce the notion of fiscal stress to little more than post-crisis challenge. While undoubtedly crises lead to drastic budget cutbacks and immediate effects, fiscal stress is alternatively a routine condition (Glassberg, 1981) and state of affairs existing within cities over the course of decades (Pisano, 2014). Towards the end of the eighties, many scholars noted that local governments in Western Europe at that time had already been diagnosed with suffering from fiscal stress for nearly two decades (Boyne, 1988; Rubin, 1985; Jick & Murray, 1982, Morgan, & Pammer, 1988). As Wolman (1992) writes: “the term simply becomes attached to local governments as a condition of their being urban” (p.472). Two reasons can be advanced to account for this state of affairs. One rationale is that funds will never satisfy rising ambitions of service provision, and therefore “there is always a fiscal stress” (ibid., p.16). Another is that “large cities of the world are seen to be breaking down under sheer excess of size and growth” (Jackson et al., 1982, p.23). Reading into the more recent statistics, Boyne’s and the others’ assertion still holds for many local governments (Hendrick, 2004). Yet, and even more radically: “[t]he era of ever expanding local budgets passed into the dustbin of history” (Clark & Walter, 1991, p.676).

With all of this information, it cannot be denied that budget deficits exacerbated in the aftermath of the economic crisis. Indeed, many scholars place excessive emphasis on the Great Recession of 2008 as being a benchmark for a new era of fiscal stress and a focal point for a renewed interest in fiscal stress studies (Bozeman, 2010). For instance, Martin, Levey, & Cawley (2012) argue that authorities entered a period they call the “New Normal”, marked by limited resources, tough decisions,

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and harsh realities. Moreover, Valcik et al. (2015) show that there have been ‘irreversible changes’ in local government finances and services since.

In simple terms, fiscal stress is a matter of imbalance between actual expenditure and revenue (Scorsone & Plerhoples, 2010), or between service provision and that which is expected – what citizens desire or expect but do not have (Arnett, 2011). Whether in one or the other is a question of locality. Within local contexts, the work of Wolman & Peterson (1980) forms a relevant, cohesive body of work wherein fiscal stress is defined as:

a situation in which a governmental unit, … must, even after accounting for any increase in tax revenues due to an expanding tax base, choose between (1) taking action to increase revenue in order to maintain existing real expenditure and service levels (2) reducing real expenditures and services (3) engaging in some combination of these activities.

Explanations central to the study of fiscal stress include those situating the phenomenon within different school of thoughts. Neo-Marxists see the capitalist society as the primary culprit responsible for fiscal stress, in that the state bears the costs whilst some interest groups grow economically (Bailey, 1991; Rubin, 1985). Alternatively, public choice theorists attribute the problem to supply and demand, where allocated services fail to match individual’s market preference (Rubin, 1985). Theorists of this group believe that it is in the nature of collective provision of services to be excessive, in that it tends to exceed what individuals would themselves purchase (Ibid.). Here, Rubin alludes to ‘fiscal illusion’ as one likely cause, relating the excessive demand, hence the oversupply, not only to self-interests, but also to ignorance among people as to how much services actually cost. Dollery & Wallis (2001) identified five forms of this illusion, diverging from the premise that “the actual costs and benefits of government may be consistently misconstrued by the citizenry” (p.67). A third perspective interprets fiscal stress from the view of right-wing theorists. Accordingly, the private sector bears the costs associated with rising public-sector expenditure. This hinders economic growth and restrains tax revenues (Bailey, 1991).

Another theoretical view underlying fiscal stress with more emphasis on localities is cutback management theory. Theorists of this view drew on organisational change theory as they analysed the ways in which institutions accommodated change in funds back in the seventies (Jick & Murray, 1982). This includes the main challenge of becoming “smaller, doing less, consuming fewer resources, but still doing something and doing it well” (Behn, 1980, p.614). In Levine’s (1979) words, it is about how to manage “organizational change toward lower levels of resource consumption and organizational activity” (p.180). Literature within this area acknowledges various difficulties with which organisations have to contend facing fiscal cutbacks. Levine (1979) outlined nine difficulties: six paradoxes together with a syndrome, a problem, and a dilemma. Among his heterogeneous challenges are: the difficulty to foresee consequences, political favouritism, participation, unwillingness to share the ‘collective bad’ (NIMBY), and finally inability to secure front costs required for productivity upgrades or even to comply with official mandates.

While these theories fundamentally oppose one another, herein they provide consistent explanations of fiscal stress pointing towards structural problems within government policies (Rubin, 1985). They further converge on a fundamental principle that views local governments as having a choice that bears economic consequences. This conforms with Wolman & Peterson’s (1980) definition quoted earlier, which recognizes that within certain parameters there is an element of choice afforded to local authorities. That is, a degree of discretion to choose from among policies and areas, or as Jick &

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Murray (1982) phrase it: “choices of who or what to cut to meet reduced budget” (p.144). Accordingly, this entails search and selection processes from among what is available. Following this line of thought, it is perhaps self-evident that local governments are regarded here as organisational systems (Hendrick, 2004; Nelson, 2012; Wolman & Peterson, 1980). This, however, bridges to a wider discussion within the system theory, where local choices of authorities can be discussed more thoroughly.

2.2 Local governments as organisations

The “scientific exploration of ‘wholes’ and ‘wholeness’” forms, in brief, the backbone of the general system theory (Lazlo,1972, p. xvii). Finding patterns and relationships among distinct

components requires a holistic and organismic thinking that is a system approach (Kast & Rosenzweig, 1972). What follows logically from this approach is a bridging of two concepts that are related to one another: systems and organisations. This is where scholars often bounce back and forth in a circular reasoning; systems manifest organised complexity, or alternately, organizations are a ‘special type of system’ (Ackoff, 1971, 661). Moreover, confusion is apt to arise along this line of thinking, particularly regarding the nature of social organizations (Kast & Rosenzweig, 1972; Katz & Kahn, 1966). Here, we stick to defining an organisation as a ‘purposeful’ system that “consists of elements that have and can exercise their own wills" (Ackoff, 1971, p.669). We add to that Scott’s (1961) note that both modern organisation and general system theories perceive organisations as an “integrated whole”, with the former giving more weight to the human organisation. As such, an organization is also “systems of interdependent human beings” (Pugh, 1990, p.343).

One standout among many is the work of March and Simon (1958) titled ‘organizations’, which all together with Cyert and March (1963;1992) and Wolman (1983), establish an influential theoretical tradition for the study of local governments. Building on their work, a government unit, whether smaller than a municipality or bigger than a county, is an organization with various tasks and duties towards specific ends. A common theme within this body of literature is to present local governments, seen as organizations, as nested systems: the formal body, the environment, and the informal contextual conditions (e.g. culture) (Wolman, 1983; Nelson, 2012) also see (Litterer, 1973). This conforms with Scott’s (1961) believe that the “only meaningful way to study organization is to study it as a system” (p.15).

2.2.1 Environment and local equilibrium

Local government work is focused mainly around “providing adequate municipal services” (March & Simon, 1958, p.194). In such cases where the scope of work is loosely defined, it becomes intuitive to ask what is ‘adequate’ and what is ‘service’. Perhaps, this is when the law comes into practice, by which local governments are bounded to provide certain services. But reality suggests that law is far from being decisive. And yet, “a local authority is responsible for its interpretation of the law and therefore its level of expenditure” (Stewart, 1983, p.147). This is to say that what is adequate is a matter of discretion; the word (adequate) per se defines the direction to target rather than the target itself. This is seen in the variation of service delivery across localities under one law.

Theoretically, scholars have sought to address this issue by linking the work of local governments to achieving equilibrium within their respective localities. Kiel (1989) sees government organizations as “structures in which stability is maintained via efforts to achieve equilibrium” (p.547). In this vein,

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Wolman (1983) sees two areas where local governments need to maintain a steady state or

‘equilibrium’: their internal and external environments. The external in his view stands for ‘constituency’ or the citizens as both recipients and financiers of the municipal services. Alternatively, the internal environment consists of the ‘participants’ or civil servants working to provide services to the external environment. In simple terms, local authorities are bounded by an equation where inputs (resources and political support) must be harnessed in ways that lead to a provision of satisfactory outputs (services) that, to some extent, guarantees the continuity of work and inputs.

While Wolman’s equilibrium may be more tailored to fit the case of local governments, others have discussed it more broadly. Equilibrium in organization studies is a fuzzy concept that suffers a definitional problem. Katz & Kahn (1966) recognize two directions for organizations to equilibrate; they either change the world (proact) or change themselves (react). Between these two options, “the dominant tendency will be to seek control over the environment rather than to modify internal structures to accord with external changes” (ibid., p.92). Litterer’s (1973, p.50) conceptualization of equilibrium is more financial in terms of profit and loss, and pluralistic in a sense that it recognizes many equilibrium points. His rationale is based on the dynamism of organizations, where he argues that equilibrium points are interrelated and are only attainable at the account of one another – equilibrium in an area disturbs the other. Therefore, an organisation reaches one equilibrium point only to start

working to the next, which make these points seem as goals (ibid.). Another approach by Huse & Bowditch (1977) links equilibrium to resistance, that is a matter of balance between forces resisting the change vis-à-vis those working towards it (status quo versus growth).

It comes as no surprise that discussions on equilibrium often extend to include adaptability at times of disruption. For Ackoff (1971), the adaptability of a system is determined by its “ability to modify itself or its environment when either has changed to the system's disadvantage so as to regain at least some of its lost efficiency” (p.668). Marks (1977) spoke of adaptation in relation to management (internal environment), which involves strategizing and forecasting. Others, such as Terreberry (1968) discussed adaptability as a function of learning and finding ways to operate according to ‘externally induced change’.

To conclude, the relation of this to the discussion at hand is that fiscal stress, in one way or another, disturbs organisations. To use the same language, it challenges local governments as they try to retain equilibrium with their environments. Whether we adopted financial, service-based, or resistance-based definition of equilibrium, fiscal stress defies them all. Having discussed fiscal stress as a

continuum, Litterer’s (1973) notion of multi point equilibrium is potentially useful.

2.2.2 Context and local choice

Stewart (1983) sees local authorities as both a “political institutions constituted for local choice … [and] as providers of services which carry out maintenance, order and change roles” (p.7). Their peculiarity is not only due to their “special status as authoritative, non-market extensions of the state” (Levine, 1978, p.318), but also to their exercise of local choice that sets them apart from central government. The exercise of local choice is in fact an extension of actual devolution of powers from above, and is beyond forms of administrative discretion (Stewart, 1983). That said variations are to exist among both localities and services (in amount and form) insofar as the principle of local choice continues to exist. In practice, and within the normal conditions, these variations give room “to allocate resources

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in different ways…, to raise different levels of resources…, [and] to organise services in different ways” (ibid., p.3). Similarly, within extraordinary conditions, the principle of local choice does not cease to exist. Indeed, it remains determinative as it reflects on the choices adopted as the organisation seeks to adapt. Obviously, under both conditions, some differences persist about the range of choices available and the nature of limits by which they are confined. This is to say that from among diverse choices, “only a small number may satisfy the organization's needs” (Wolman, 1983, p.247).

2.3 Local government response to fiscal stress

Over the course of years, a large body of literature has accumulated on local choice and

decision-making processes. Within this body, decisions that are triggered by financial strains represent a ‘special class’ of municipal decision-making (Morgan & Pammer, 1988, p.70). Scholars have identified various approaches on how local authorities react to fiscal stress. Borrowing from the work of Nelson (2012), those approaches can be categorised into three different subsets as will be outlined. It should be noted that one challenge in these models is that they judge based on a range of measures.

2.3.1 Coping strategies: step-by-step

This approach observes that behaviours under austerity cluster in patterns. It looks at reactions to stress as part of a bigger rational plan to cope with tough financial realities. It thereby assumes similar municipal mindsets and predictable responsive choices. Fiscal stress in this context serves as a stimulant, a challenge, for localities prompting search for these not only available alternatives, but rather feasible ones. Feasibility as defined by Wolman (1983) is seen within adoption and implementation contexts, where choices are aligned with the general concept of equilibrium discussed earlier (p.247).

To maintain a state of equilibrium, localities initially will attempt to rule out choices that

compromise services provided or employee satisfaction (ibid.). The idea is that they seek neutral choices that buy them time. Examples of such responses can be seen in borrowing or reallocating funds, using reserves, or even selling critical infrastructure to secure one-time revenues (ibid.). With little surprise, such measures are inadequate for achieving long-term budgetary balance. Should fiscal stress persist, as is often the case, localities ultimately run out of options and begin resorting to revenues and expenditure adjustments. This is when the debate becomes one about raising taxes vis-à-vis cutting on services, or even both. Maher and Deller (2007) confirmed this in their study asserting, “Communities are less willing to endorse service elimination unless they are facing significant levels of fiscal stress”. It should be noted that in more distinct cases, some local authorities are able to change the situation for their advantage by going innovative. Technologies can afford less painful alternatives by improving efficiency to tackle the stress (more discussion below in section 2.4.1).

This model perceives local choices as overly driven by politics, and is context-sensitive. Where cuts did happen, they were across-the-board on a pro rata basis, especially in the U.K. (Wolman, 1983, p.258). In explaining this, Wolman did not only cling to the notion of maintaining equilibrium via more ‘equitable’ cuts, but also referred the structure of local governments in the U.K. In that, he saw inability of central executives of Westminster to direct cuts or prioritize them at the local level. Consequently, targeting cuts imply municipal departments imposing cuts on one another in a horizontal structure of power. It is a dilemma for local authorities in the sense that cutbacks are a trade-off between equity (across-the-board cuts) and efficiency (targeting cuts). Choosing one or the other will depend largely on

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the severity of the fiscal stress and the political landscape. Wolman associates service cuts to those services that are “either largely invisible or unimportant to the citizenry” via means that are ‘least visible’ (p.259). Yet, none of this can be generalised.

Finally, and as for the local choice, local authorities here “respond to decrements with a mix of espoused and operative strategies that are not necessarily consistent” (Levine, 1978, 319). This may explain why Levine provided tactics, though with no “attempt to determine which tactics would be used under which circumstances or with what frequency” (Scorsone & Plerhoples, 2010, p.179). One year after, Levine published again asserting “strategies are easier to describe than prescribe” (1979, p.182). In any case, the choice of cutting services is deferred here to more austere stages (Nelson, 2012). In sum, though rational in principle, choices taken under strain do not follow an entirely idealized rational model. This is because of inherent limitations within the bureaucracy of the system as well as factors associated with those involved in the decision-making process as discussed in below in section (2.3.4).

2.3.2 Unstructured response

The underlying premise of this approach is that local decision-making under financial strains is far from being rational. This approach sees unstructured, unorganized, and yet unpredictable set of behaviours across localities as they respond to fiscal stress. It rules out alternative explanations; chiefly those of rationalism, incrementalism, and other systemic coping approaches (Bartle, 1996). Downs & Rocke (1984) were among those to conclude with findings that ran counter to these theories. No evidence was found in their study to back the interest group politics model, which entails ‘across-the-board-cuts’, nor traces of incrementalism were detected that the bureaucratic process theory suggests. Thereby, areas of non-mandatory or ‘controllable’ expenditures for local authorities are “assumed to be of roughly equal utility” (ibid, p.341). Where an area seems more attractive is attributable to “transient decision-maker preferences, and the stochastic impact of short-term expenditure solutions” (ibid., 329).

A subsequent study was conducted by Morgan and Pammer (1988) using ‘nondecision-making’ or the ‘garbage-can model’ theory. In contrary to Levine’s (1978) pragmatic explanation of ill-defined decisions mentioned earlier, Morgan and Pammer simply declare it “difficult to explain” (p.69). Similar to any budgetary decision making, they see that retrenchment makes no special case and therefore is largely ‘executive-dominated” (ibid., p. 72). Consequently, it is not until the executives “consider the city’s plight to be grim” that we can expect to see austerity measures (ibid., p.75). Finally, for reasons directly attributable to varying statutory requirement, costs of bureaucracies, or changes in

demographics, resources, and industrial base among localities, scholars of this approach see municipal behaviours at times of fiscal stress as unpredictable.

2.3.3 Bounded rationality

Stemming originally from the work of Herbert Simon, the concept of ‘bounded rationality’ has elicited considerable attention, especially in organization studies. While there may be “no unified theory of bounded rationality”, there are certainly complimentary ideas and related viewpoints (Aumann, 1997). Theories of bounded rationality “incorporate constraints on the information-processing capacities of the actor” (Simon, 1972, p.162). They denote a type of rationality that lends itself to environments that are far more complex than the actor’s limited mental capabilities (Dequech, 2001). In short, as a

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concept it departs from rational decision-making model, though recognizes cognitive limits alongside the process.

These limits are discussed in March and Simon (1958, p.138) using a model of ‘rational man’. As this rational man tries to accomplish his objectives, he takes the following steps- each bounded by different factors. The range of alternatives open to consideration for him are not given, but rather generated. Insofar as man’s intellect allows him to grasp all the complexities of the decision at hand, there remains unseen and missed alternatives. Yet, when those alternatives are to be weighed against one another, the man’s inability to foresee all the consequences of each individual alternative renders the process imperfect. As such, the adopted choices are likely to be ‘satisfactory’ rather than ‘optimal’. This is to say that what is sought after are choices that are good enough within the parameters of the man’s own “definition of the problem” and not necessarily beyond (March & Simon, 1958). Based on that, Simon introduced the term ‘satisficing’ – combining together ‘satisfy’ and ‘suffice’, calling for psychological realism when analysing human decision-making in both individual and organisational contexts.

Although bounded-rationality is often evoked in different contexts, Nelson (2012) made direct application of it to municipal choices during fiscal stress. Her findings concluded that bounded rationality fits as a model to explain local choices under strain. For her, state interventions and system pressures pose constrains on the local rational decision-making and give room for differential policies as to how fiscal stress is addressed. Cutting services is thus dependent on the community and how fiscal expenditure is prioritized (ibdi.).

2.3.4 Motives of Subunits

Together with an observable structure, stating explicit goals distinguish formal organisations from other ‘informal’ ones (e.g. groups) (Litterer, 1973, p.317). So long as goals and motives are explicit, they remain committed to the larger social purpose of an organisation. This, however, does not preclude the existence of other covert motives besides those of the formal organisation. Indeed, through the lenses of the systems theory, subunits are influential active systems. This is the point of departure for Levine (1978), whose model not only gives more weight to the subunits, but also suggests that their motives at times of stress do not necessarily align with those of the organisation. As the economic condition changes to the municipality’s disadvantage, so does the motives that drive behaviours and decision-making. Here, goals such as survival of the subunit come into play. In this vein, Levine sees the management of subunits as either standing to resist or to smooth the decline (ibid.). Stewart (1983) somehow provided similar ideas asserting, “organizational interests can lead to conflict or co-operation” (p.viii). For Levine (1978) an ill-informed decision is not limited to particular economic condition, though it can be explained accordingly. There is a paradox in the sense that intuition and snap judgments predominate at times of abundance because they simply ‘suffice’, while under austerity organisations cannot afford otherwise; strict budgets and little time (ibid.).

2.3.5 Realities in the ‘Age of Austerity’

“First, the age of austerity demands responsible politics”. This was David Cameron’s (2009) well-turned phrase in his speech at Cheltenham racecourse as the British conservative leader. Four years later, as a prime minster, Cameron reaffirmed that austerity is to last forever and Britain should get used to

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becoming “a leaner, more efficient state… Not just now, but permanently” (Cabinet Office, Prime Minister's Office, 2013).

While what constitutes ‘responsible politics’ is debatable and controversial among politicians and economists. There is little disagreement that we have entered an age of austerity (Farnsworth & Irving, 2012). The age of austerity has become the ‘new orthodoxy’ (Speed, 2016); a matter of ‘popular fact’ (Farnsworth & Irving, 2012) - though some refrain from using ‘age of austerity’ as a term because it ‘imbues’ this period with ‘underserved legitimacy’ (O'Hara, 2015, p.2). In spite of the wording, it is evident that fiscal stress persists at the local level as austerity dominates. Duffy (2013) found that “… there are in fact cuts of £75.2 billion. From these cuts over 50% fall on just two areas, benefits and local government”. This has been discussed earlier at the outset of this chapter, showing that fiscal stress has maintained a perpetual, yet evolving presence in Europe and elsewhere. For reasons that are obvious, inherent, and irrelevant, fiscal stress does not seem to be diminishing. If anything, our Cities will continue serving as urban laboratories to pilot fiscal policies and witness different choices geared towards eliminating the stress.

When discussing ‘responsible’ politics at the local level, there is certainly less room for

manoeuvres. Fiscally stressed authorities have fewer options. Wolman and Peterson (1980) definition quoted earlier saw three activities ahead of fiscally stressed authorities: increase revenue to maintain expenditure and services, reduce expenditure and services, or do a bit of both. Choosing from among these three paths outlined is seen by Boyne (1988) as rather problematic. He argues that such paths do not eradicate fiscal stress, but rather displace it. Jackson et al. (1982) took a similar stance, arguing that stabilising the budget using such short-term measures lead to “service levels well below the national average and with local tax burdens well above the national average” (p.29). Consequently, people borne the costs as the stress shifts from local authority’s budget into theirs, which in more deprived contexts accounts for what Boyne (1988) terms as fiscal stress syndrome. Jackson et al. (1982) argue

Thus, whilst fiscal stress might have been alleviated in the sense that budgets are now in balance, there now exists an imbalance between existing levels of service provision and that which is desired but cannot be afforded. To call this fiscal stress is probably an abuse of language but it does accurately reflect the situation which many cities face today. (p.29)

Peck (2012) has also discussed this in his theory of austerity urbanism under what he calls ‘enforcing economy’. In Jamie Peck’s words “austerity is ultimately concerned with off-loading costs, displacing responsibility; it is about making others pay the price of fiscal retrenchment” (p.632). ‘Others’ according to Peck refers to the 99% of people, including those living in the margins and the most deprived

neighbourhoods.

This chapter has shown various local behaviours under fiscal stress and sought theoretical explanations for each. The goal was to understand how local authorities act when facing strains. However, the discussion here has restricted the recognition of the issue to mere finance and had not made it beyond. This is in part because the bulk of literature date back to some thirty years, when the topic was not as manifold as it is today (Maher & Deller, 2007). Yet, this is a time when choices are not merely weighed against their economic benefits, at least theoretically. People were less considerate towards others sharing the planet with them in an environmental sense. Between then and now, more literature emerged, and the three paths Wolman and Peterson (1980) outlined are no longer the only

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available alternatives. Innovation and collaboration have somehow changed the equation as will be discussed below.

2.4 ‘alternatives to the budget cutter's knife’

2.4.1 Innovation: Delivering more for less

Discussions about innovation are nothing new. Many scholars noted that innovation is

conceptually elusive, and as a notion it has not had a clear definition (Downs & Mohr, 1976; Frendreis, 1983; Wolman, 1986). Indeed, innovation means different things for different people, and even the empirical studies in this field suffer ‘extreme variance’, and ‘instability’ (Downs & Mohr, 1976, p.700). The term innovation seems to be arbitrary defined and used loosely in situations when what is intended is organisational change.

As such, it is prerequisite to define clearly what innovation is. Central to most definitions is the notion of newness, which by itself does not fully encompass all features and significance of innovation. This is because newness connotes invention (the creation and discovery of things), and lacks any ‘practical application’ which innovation implies (Read, 2000, p.97). For any policy or technique to be considered innovation, it must be adopted and embraced (Wolman, 1986, p.161), be useful (Read, 2000), and yet be ‘implemented and institutionalised’ beyond mere adoption (Wolman, 1986, p.162; Downs & Mohr, 1976). The extents to which these three conditions are stipulated constitute the difference among definitions. Newness is not only a critical condition in distinguishing innovation from invention, but also innovation from any organisational change. This is when the time of adoption comes into debate: is newness (e.g. activity, policy) measured based on the organisation or its relevant

environment (early adopters vis-à-vis later adopters) (Wolman, 1986).

In 1969, Walker defined innovation in the context of local governments as “a program or policy which is new to the states adopting it, no matter how old the program may be or how many other states may have adopted it” (p.881). More broadly, innovation is defined as “the adoption of an idea of

behaviour - whether pertaining to a device, system, process, policy, programme, product, or service - that is new to the adopting organization” (Damanpour, Szabat, & Evan, 1989, p.588).

Does fiscal stress lead to innovation?

Innovation as a discourse and a practice has long been coupled with fiscal stress. This is based on a premise that scarcity is an emerging setting and a situation that puts into practice new activities and behaviours (Wolman, 1986). There are some that believe in “productivity improvement in an age of scarcity” (Frendreis, 1983, p.109), which innovation embraces. And alternatively, others that see financial strains as hindering innovation in the public realm. In either case, theorists seem to hold the belief that “the value of innovation lies in its contribution to profits” (Flynn et al., 2003, p.6). The body of literature concerned with innovation is sparse, which is understandable given its organisational interest and cross-domain nature. Frendreis (1983) characterises this literature as “a mile wide and an inch deep” (p.110). However, when it comes to examining the relationship between fiscally stressed authorities and innovation, only a handful of studies exist (Khovanova, 2009).

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The literature has so far come to no decisive stand as to the relationship between fiscal stress and innovation. There are two dominant perspectives, both backed with theoretical arguments. The first perspective holds the belief that innovation is out of reach without abundant resources (Biller, 1980, p.606; Cayer, 1986; Levine, 1978). With no resource slack, organisations lack the ability to initiate innovative approaches. Bozeman and Slusher (1979) have developed influential arguments regarding the implication of scarcity on innovation. For them, scarcity and a stressed environment “breed structural rigidity, formalization, habitual response, and increasing interorganizational conflict” (p.349). It is in this sense that they spoke of maladaptive behaviours rather than innovation at times of turbulence.

Counter to these views is the positive dissimilar perspective; adopting the idea that

organisational climate at times of stress is supportive of change. Views here are premised upon the belief that innovation is linked to ‘performance gap’, that is “the discrepancy between an organization's expectations and its actual performance.” (Rogers, 2010, p.393). To fill this gap, organisations engage in ‘problemestic search’ (Cyert & March, 1963, p.121), which would not be undertaken “unless the present course is in some sense unsatisfactory” (March & Simon, 1958, p.173). Innovation is thus problem-oriented as “failure induces search and search ordinarily results in solutions… consequently… relatively unsuccessful firms are likely to innovate” (Cyert & March, 1963, p.278). Similar findings concluded by Greve (2003) assert that low performance leads to innovation. However, there are two notes one needs to bear in mind here. Firstly, the dominant line of argument relies on a baseless assumption that fiscal stress affects organisational productivity and performance (Khovanova, 2009). The relationship between fiscal stress and the performance gap is vague. Secondly, all the literature quoted here is more oriented towards business firms not public organisations.

In an attempt to overcome this discrepancy, Cyert and March (1963) distinguish two types of innovation. One type is a problem-oriented innovation, which is induced by problems on the short-run, the other is slack innovation, which is ‘remotely related to major organisational problems’. Cyert and March (1963) further explain the difference

slack provides a source of funds for innovations that would not be approved in the face of scarcity but that have strong sub-unit support…such innovations typically include improvements in the technology… In the short run they contribute to subunits goals (professional status, sub-unit prestige and so forth) (p.279)

It should be noted that slack in this context is intended in a budgetary sense as opposed to more broadly defined organisational slack (Wolman, 1986, p.166). A concise distinction between the two is captured in Chan et al. (1983, p. 96), wherein organisational slack is the surplus of all forms of organisational

resources (physical, human, and fiscal), while budgetary slack is limited to the excess in financial

resources allocated to cover costs. Some efforts in this direction can be found in Cyert and March (1992) where organisational slack is defined narrowly as the” difference between total resources and total necessary payment” (p.42)

Beyond these theoretical debates, one thing that is certain about innovation is that it needs financing over different stages. Getting projects off the ground requires investments of some sort. O’Sullivan (2005) emphasises that “innovation is an expensive process; significant resources must be expended to initiate, direct, and sustain it”. This leaves open the question of how fiscally stressed authorities are meant to afford upfront and continuous investments required to adopt new technologies. One way would be through collaboration, which is discussed briefly in the next section.

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2.4.2 Collaboration

Collaboration here is used as an umbrella term to denote alternative service delivery strategies and joint public work. It refers to arrangements other than autonomous service provision whereby local authorities engage in inter-local cooperation with one another, use public-private partnerships, or privatisation initiatives (outsourcing). What brings these distinct alternatives together is a premise that they all challenge a traditional model of domestic service monopoly (Morgan & Hirlinger, 1991). For when municipalities embrace such alternatives, they “depart from the traditional dogma that the only organisational solution to the production of municipal goods is the municipal monopoly” (Christoffersen & Bo Larsen, 2007, p.80).

In practice, the three alternatives differ and vary in their suitability to different municipal functions, preferences, and conditions (Mohr, Deller, & Halstead, 2010). What is applicable to one authority or service is not necessarily applicable to another. For if one understands service provision as a spectrum that ranges from ‘public to ‘private’, inter-local and outsourcing fall at ends of the spectrum, whereas private-public partnerships lie in-between. Using a spectrum perspective is particularly useful as we are not discussing opposites or rigid models. The subject matter is heavily dependent on negotiations and tailored contracts that are case-specific. Each alternative has different forms and models. For instance, privatisation, whereby authorities offload functions by transforming them to private sector, entails different asset ownership (Wettenhall, 2003). Similarly, interlocal agreement can be anything from joint service agreement, to intergovernmental service contract or intergovernmental service transfer (LeRoux & Carr, 2007). Public-private partnerships also have different models that range in their popularity according to the country and its regulations (Yong, 2010). These partnerships are defined as “complex, long-term municipal contracts with private companies for some combination of services, construction, or financing in return for some public funds, public assets, or user fees” (Bloomfield, 2006, p.400). It should be noted that privatisation in particular received more scholarly than other cooperation alternatives (Girard et al., 2009, p.374).

For local decision-making, it is not a question about whether or not to collaborate, but rather with whom, for how long, on which service, and using which alternative. Those are choice-type questions, whose answers are likely to be cost, strategy-, and politically driven (Kremic, Icmeli Tukel, & Rom, 2006). The discussion below in intended to clarify more on these drivers with focus on the former. Fiscal stress and collaboration: the nexus and the dilemma

Recent fiscal stress scholarship has given considerable attention to collaboration strategies. There is somehow a belief that contracting out affords “a painless alternative to the budget cutter's knife” (Moore ,1987) The rationale for this rests on evidence that collaboration obviates the need for direct tax increase or service cuts at times of fiscal stress (Zafra-Gómez et al., 2014, p.24). This is attributable to a common view that collaboration affords more efficient settings in service provision. Another rationale would be the direct attraction of critical private capital which otherwise would go to more affluent communities (Stephenson, 1991, p.109). Several other studies have concluded that fiscal stress promotes outsourcing (Moore, 1987; Morgan & Hirlinger, 1991; Lopez-de-Silane, Shleifer, & Vishny, 1995; Kodrzycki,1998; Joassart-Marcelli & Musso, 2005; Zafra-Gómez et al., 2014).

The extent to which fiscal stress affects collaboration decision-making is thus far contested with no clear consensus. The dilemma of lack of agreement resurfaces again, with many counter-arguments

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to the views discussed above. LeRoux & Carr (2007) concluded that fiscal consideration “do not serve as a universal rationale for cooperation decisions” (P.356), but it prompted localities to consider other alternative options. Zullo (2009) reported similar findings about outsourcing drawing on data from American counties between 1992-2002. Likewise, Bel and Miralles (2003) concluded that privatisation was mainly service-led with no relationship with fiscal pressure. Finally, Greene (1996) found the relationship between fiscal stress and privatisation to be negative. Jeffrey Greene argues, “fiscally stressed cities may have too many difficulties coping with their existing situation to introduce a substantial policy change like privitization” (p.142)

Why do authorities collaborate then?

Collaboration is multifaceted. Fiscal stress is only one component of a much broader topic. Whether it is fiscal stress inducing change or not, aspects of efficiency in collaboration prevail both in economic and political terms. Economically, the usual argument about public-private performance gap finds its way into this discussion here. Moore (1987) clings to that and adds market competition as two likely reasons why outsourcing entails “impressive budgetary savings” (p.63). Competitive bidding affords the opportunity for authorities to “shop around” for better deals and desired quality that are not

applicable in-house (ibid.). However, shopping around is less likely in smaller towns where bidders show no interests and therefore less entities competing for the contract (Mohr et al., 2010). Cost efficiency is therefore more plausible in larger metropolitan areas (Morgan & Hirlinger, 1991; Mohr et al., 2010). Mohr et al. (2010) further note that smaller municipalities are sometimes forced into collaboration for some services they cannot unilaterally provide, even if no cost saving occurred.

Cost efficiency can also be achieved by exploiting economies of scale (Lackey, Freshwater, & Rupasingha, 2002; Zullo, 2009; Zafra-Gómez et al., 2014), or economies of density (spatial proximity) (Bel & Fageda, 2008). Such savings are often coupled with interlocal cooperation, and are limited to certain services within “overlapping geographic jurisdictions” (Zullo, 2009, p.460). In sum, interlocal cooperation merits are “increased access to external resources, economies of scale, cost-effectiveness, protection for resource-dependent economies, and greater influence through strength in numbers” (Lackey,

Freshwater, & Rupasingha, 2002).

In theory, where this is economically discussed, two theoretical frameworks are frequently used: Public Choice and New Public Management. Public choice theorists see outsourcing as a practical way to overcome overproduction and excessive supply that are inherent traits of government service provision (Mohr et al., 2010). Policy preference in this framework leans more towards privatisation, which entails less government involvement (Zullo, 2009, p.461). Alternatively, New Public Management framework seeks to transform public organisations into “much more ‘business-like’ and ‘market-oriented’, that is, performance-, cost-, efficiency- and audit-oriented” (Diefenbach, 2009, p.893). As such, outsourcing’s soundness stems from an "economic use of resources” (Zafra-Gómez et al., 2014, p.22). Mohr et al., (2010) argue that one ramification of this approach was “rapid increase in alternative service delivery options [both contracting out and joint work]” (p.895)

The political efficiency seems to be a strong driver as well, which is understandable in governmental contexts. One important determinative is an ideological preference for the size of

government. Outsourcing, as opposed to interlocal cooperation, helps in scaling the size of government down (Zullo, 2009).

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Common sense dictates that people will not be happy when services decline or taxes increase. Thus, “it makes political sense to seize every opportunity to cut spending in relatively painless ways before having to confront the tough spending trade-off decisions” (Moore, 1987, p.72). If collaboration offers that painless, less disturbing, and yet cost saving way, then it is politically sound to engage in it. The implicit premise in this view is that collaboration helps to maintain external equilibrium. As Moore (1978) adds “special-interest group opposition to contracting out is typically much less pronounced than it is to budget cuts”. That being said, some localities still refrain from going in that direction, even if in house arrangements are more expensive. Lopez-de-Silane et al. (1995) touch upon this and put forward two rationales. One rationale, with subtle reference to internal equilibrium, argues that delivering services in house earns politicians political support from public employees, ‘political patronage’ (p.448). The other refers to a claim that some social services are better handles by government than contractors if they “address social goals… because politicians and civil servants place more weight on these goals” (ibid.). Finally, it should be noted that there is more to collaboration than the aspect of efficiency. Indeed, efficiency is only one component of a much broader discussion that encompasses issues of municipal accountability (Hood, 1995), organisational motives (Kremic et al., 2006), and organisational structure (Zafra-Gómez et al., 2014; Christoffersen & Bo Larsen, 2007).

2.5 Concluding remark

Fiscal stress means different things in academic and policy circles. No one theory or perspective is capable of explaining how fiscally stressed localities behave and be entirely convincing or accepted by all. Scholars have presented clashing views and controversies. As discussed, whilst some see that fiscal stress induces change, innovation, and collaboration, others argue the opposite. It may be difficult to direct this study towards one direction or adopt one stand without imperial evidence. According to Maher and Deller (2007), “our ability to understand the extent to which any or all of these approaches are being utilized by governments is limited by studies that rely on case studies”. In sum, Figure (1) below outlines how fiscal stress may affect urban services, assuming different scenarios extracted from the discussions in this chapter.

Sufficient attention should be given to the subunits within the local government and the

individuals in charge. Understanding their motives is crucial and should be viewed in contrast to those of the organisation they represent. Finally, studies of fiscal stress often explore range of managerial and strategic policies choices across different departments within local organisation. It may be a bit different here that the study is concerned with one area managed by one department.

No Change to service Service Change Fiscal Stress and urban services

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Figure (1) Urban Services & Fiscal Stress

CHAPTER (III) - Research Design

3.1 Research Strategy

The purpose of this chapter is to clarify how this research was carried out. In so doing, it must firstly illustrate “what there is to be investigated”, that is it its ontological stance (Walliman, 2006). Secondly, it will clarify its epistemology, which illustrates “what is the relationship between the inquirer and the known?” (Denzin & Ryan, 2007, p.579). In this part, questions regarding the nature of

knowledge and the way it is acquired come to the fore. In sum, the section is concerned with the researcher’s role, his stand on reality, and how he interacted with the inquiry. This clarification is crucially important as it affects the selection, omission, interpretation, and shaping of facts (Shi, 2010, p.187). Section 3.1 discusses research design and the rationale behind the qualitative approach. The rest of the sections are concerned with research practicalities.

3.1.1 Epistemological and Ontological position

This study follows subjective, constructionist ontological stance. Such a stance takes an outlook that “social phenomena and their meanings are continually being accomplished by the social actor” (Bryman, 2016, p.29). Facts as such are culturally and historically mediated, whereby the experiences, attitudes, and behaviours are not divorced from reality (O'Gorman & MacIntosh, 2015). Constructionists believe that it is a fallacy to speak of reality as one fixed and unified totality, while many others exist (ibid.). This is because constructions exist within individuals: “they do not exist outside of the persons Authority bearing costs No collaboration Collaboration Service cuts Interlocal Cooperation In-house Services Public-Private Agreement Outsourcing

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who create and hold them; they are not part of some ‘objective’ world that exists apart from their constructors” (Guba & Lincoln, 1989, p.143). Thus, ‘what is there to be investigated’ is diversely expressible, stretched and shaped reality, tailored to the acts of individuals (Schwandt, 1998).

In contrast to this stance, an objective ontology assumes that researchers stand at a distance, independently from the data. Knorr-Cetina (1981) demonstrates that “[t]o the objectivist, the world is composed of facts and the goal of knowledge is to provide a literal account of what that world is like” (p.1). This research argues that it may be difficult to maintain objectivity in a research that involves “discovering patterns, themes and categories in one’s data” (Patton, 2002, p.453). However, in such a philosophical discussion, it is hard to fully justify the stand one is taking. For O'Gorman & MacIntosh (2015) “there will always be a valid argument against any position” (p.58). Ultimately, we stand by Kenneth Strike (1987) as she asserts: “the claim that people are active in learning or knowledge construction is rather uninteresting. It is uninteresting because no one, beyond a few aberrant behaviourists, denies it” (p.483 cited in Schwandt 1998, p.237)

It may be apparent by now that this study follows an interpretivist epistemological stance. Interpretivism as a research paradigm orients this study to focus on understanding and unveiling the context of the phenomenon rather than measuring it. It varies greatly from a positivist paradigm, where researchers keep distance from the ‘researched’, and accordingly delineate a boundary line between themselves and the data. The views adopted here emphasise that no such line exists, and if so, it is thin, vague, and can be easily crossed. More interaction between the researcher and that inquired is needed to arrive at what Molteberg & Bergstrom (2000) see as “sophisticated, inclusive and informed

constructions of the world” (p.20).

3.1.2 Qualitative approach

It goes without saying that a constructionist, interpretative paradigm entails a qualitative methodology. This methodology is to “study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret these things in terms of the meaning people bring to them” (Denzin & Ryan, 2007, p.580). As stressed earlier, this study seeks to understand street lighting regimes from the perspective of local authorities. Views, values, motives, drivers, as well as a personal understanding of the situation are pivotal to comprehending those distinct regimes, and are the kind of data that can be observed rather than measured. As opposed to a qualitative approach, a quantitative approach would have served a more statistical understanding, which can also be concerned with one’s point of view. However, we cling to Denzin & Ryan (2007) argument that “quantitative researchers are seldom able to capture the

subject’s perspective because they have to rely on more remote, inferential empirical materials” (p.584). Shurmer-Smith (2002) notes that only when one adopts a particular theoretical stance,

“methods will suggest themselves and others become inappropriate for both theoretical and practical reasons” (p.95). This research deploys inductive research methods to answer its questions, trying to “build knowledge from the bottom up through observations” (Ritchie et al., 2013, p.7). Therefore it, departs from observations and then constructs generalisations and not the other way around found in deduction reasoning (Patton, 2002). Table (1) outlines the research design for every question.

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Table 1 Research sub-questions

Research Sub-question Epistemology/Ontology Method Data Type 1- To what extent has fiscal

stress influenced street lighting

regimes? Subjective Constructionist/ Interpretivist

Semi-structured Interviews & Thematic Analysis

Qualitative 2- What factors are associated

with street lighting decision- making orientation?

Content analysis + Semi-structured Interviews & Thematic Analysis

3.2 Sampling and Generalisability

3.2.1 Generalisability

The nature of this kind of research is such that its purpose is to deliver findings that are generalisable. And yet, this very nature renders it subject to criticism on the grounds that qualitative studies lack generalisability. The point we need to stress here is acknowledging generalisability as an inherent ‘prerogative’ of quantitative designs, but not as an exclusive merit. Janica Morse (1999) argues: “if qualitative research is considered not generalizable, then it is of little use, insignificant, and hardly worth doing” (P.5). To move beyond this debate, one needs to transcend narrow thinking where the “aims and objectives of quantitative research are implicitly being used as a benchmark” (Addington-Hall, 2007, 185). Using quantitative philosophical criteria in assessing what is qualitative in nature renders the latter's findings cannot be generalised. In sum, qualitative generalisations retain a logical,

non-probabilistic substance as opposed to those put forward by quantitative inquires (Horsburgh, 2003). What is to be generalised here is ‘situational’ claim, not demographic or representative (ibid.)

Small, purposive sampling deemed to be an adequate strategy to pursue. This kind of sampling is common among qualitative studies, and is intended to ensure “that those sampled are relevant to the research questions that are being posed” (Brayman, 2008, p.415). It was not in the scope of the paper to aim for statistical inference. Thus, maintaining representativeness or randomness in the sampling processes was of little concern (Horsburgh, 2003). Two questions arise here: what makes a sample relevant? And how was the sample size managed? The sections below are intended to provide sufficient answers.

Fiscal stress & street lighting choices in Britain: realities and the way forward