value(s) of civil leaders : a study into the influence of governance context on public value orientation

What values motivate and direct civil leaders and to what extent are the values shaped by the institutional context in which these leaders operate? This central question was divided into three research questions: 1. Do civil leaders have a common value pattern that explains their focus on the public interest and the way in which they pursue their activities? 2. Do key governance contexts within society typically conduce towards distinct value patterns? 3. To what extent can the observed value patterns of civil leaders be explained by the location of these leaders in particular institutional contexts (governance context)? These questions are relevant for three research areas. First, the research of civil leaders and especially what motivates and directs civil leaders in their orientation on societal issues. Second, the research of the influence and characteristics of different governance contexts and especially how differences in and changes in governance context influence the societal orientation of civil leaders. And, finally, the research on how these civil leaders operate and especially how they combine this inner drive with the influence of their institutional context and with external pressures and influences. The study found that the institutional contexts certainly differ in their influence on values and distinct patterns of values were found (research question 2). There was also a remarkable common value pattern found amongst the civil leaders (research question 1), to be defined as a combination of entrepreneurial and societal values. This deviated from the value patterns based on their respective institutional contexts. This made them 'a breed of their own', and was mainly explained by the high score they gave on values like 'freedom of choice', 'entrepreneurship', 'self-realization' and 'independence'. These values, that are not uncommon for leaders in general, suggest that civil leaders operate with a certain distance from the typical influence of institutional contexts (research question).