Expectations, Trust, and ‘No Surprises’: Perceptions of Autonomy in New Zealand Crown Entities

Abstract

How autonomous are New Zealand Crown entities really? Although agencification and the autonomy of governmental agenda has been high on the research agenda in most modern industrialised jurisdictions since the mid-1990s, the discussion in New Zealand on the role of the Crown entities has more indirectly touched upon this issue. Based on the international literature on agency autonomy, this article presents new empirical evidence. The study is based on semi-structured elite interviews with retired Chief Executives of various Crown entities. The study shows that autonomy is a multifaceted concept in the New Zealand agency context, and does not necessarily means a vertical connection to the responsible ministry or to the board.