Exploring rule‐following identity at the frontline: The roles of general self‐efficacy, gender, and attitude toward clients
研究一线工作人员（街头官僚）的规则遵循身份如何受一般自我效能感、性别和对客户态度的影响，发现自我效能感越强，规则遵循身份越强，而性别和客户态度无显著调节作用。
Abstract The way in which street‐level bureaucrats relate to rules has intrigued scholars for decades. This article revisits the classic idea that street‐level bureaucrats' rule‐following identity reflects their personal insecurity and penchant for control. Building on this perspective of emotional needs, we investigate how general self‐efficacy, gender, and attitude toward clients affect this identity. We expect general self‐efficacy to suppress a strong rule‐following identity by stimulating street‐level bureaucrats' internal sense of control. We furthermore expect that this relation is stronger for women bureaucrats and bureaucrats who hold a positive attitude to clients. Contrary to expectations, survey data ( n = 1407) show that this identity strengthens as general self‐efficacy beliefs increase. Gender and attitude to clients do not affect this relationship. These findings suggest that rule‐following identity reflects street‐level bureaucrats' confidence in their abilities to work complex rule sets to fulfill task requirements, rather than desire for control or to reduce insecurity.