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The American Review of Public Administration
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End-User Satisfaction and Design Features of Public Agencies

Richard F. Callahan

University of Southern California, rcallaha{at}usc.edu

G. Ronald Gilbert

Florida International University

This study relates end-user satisfaction to three design features of public agencies that provide services. The research connects the discussion on public participation in administrative processes with a core consideration of public administration: the design features of public organizations. The study seeks to move from the descriptive literature to an empirically grounded survey methodology that examines end-user satisfaction across varied levels of government. Based on a sample of 2,816 end users of 17 public sector organizations, the study tests for associations between organizational performance features and service satisfaction. The findings correlate user satisfaction with three design characteristics of public agencies: agency dependence on user satisfaction for future funding, a clearly identifiable end-user focus by the agency, and the ability of the user to exercise choice in her or his future use of the agency’s services. These findings provide a methodology for survey of public preferences that connects agency performance with public agency design.

Key Words: customer service • public organizations • politics of structural choice • organizational performance • customer surveys • customer satisfaction • new public management

The American Review of Public Administration, Vol. 35, No. 1, 57-73 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0275074004272620
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