Public Manager Mobility as a Diffusion Mechanism: Leadership Transfers and Organizational Performance in Public Education

• In Event: The Public Workforce: Perceptions, Mobility, and Service Disparities

Abstract

Leadership transfer networks refer to the system of career paths that connect organizations through the movement of public managers. Public manager mobility creates a channel through which governance practices, managerial routines, and performance outcomes may diffuse across jurisdictions (Yi et al., 2018). Drawing from theories of policy diffusion, interorganizational learning, and network governance, mobility may transmit both managerial practices and administrative. In this sense, leadership transfer functions as a mechanism through which organizational capabilities travel (Cui et al., 2023). Yet little is known about when and how mobility generates performance diffusion, or which organizational contexts amplify or constrain these effects. 

This study asks: How does organizational performance diffuse across public organizations through leadership transfer networks, and under what conditions is diffusion stronger or weaker? Three hypotheses guide the inquiry. The Portable Innovation Hypothesis (H1) posits that a receiving organization's performance is positively associated with the prior performance of the sending organization. The Conditional Portable Innovation Hypothesis (H2) predicts that diffusion is amplified when sending and receiving organizations share similar task and resource environments. The Catch-Up Hypothesis (H3) proposes that historically low-performing and resource-constrained organizations experience greater gains when they recruit leaders from better-performing organizations. 

The study draws on longitudinal data from the Texas Education Agency spanning 24 academic years (1999–2000 through 2022–2023), capturing mobility events, organizational characteristics, and performance outcomes across all Texas school districts. Texas provides a strong policy setting because districts vary substantially across size, resources, and demographic contexts, enabling analysis of heterogenous diffusion effects. 

We employ Spatial Autoregressive (SAR) models to account for network-based interdependence among organizations, estimating performance diffusion effects while controlling for observable organizational characteristics. To test H2, task environment similarity is captured by the percentage of economically disadvantaged students, English learners, and racial and ethnic composition, which together characterize the student demand context. To test H3, organizational capacity is measured by per-pupil expenditures, student-teacher ratios, and teacher turnover rates, which proxy the implementation capacity. 

Empirical results provide support for the Portable Innovation Hypothesis, with receiving organizations showing performance patterns consistent with senders. Diffusion effects appear stronger when sending and receiving organizations share similar task and resource environments. Evidence further suggests that historically low-performing and resource-constrained organizations may experience greater gains from leadership transfers. 

This study contributes to public policy and management scholarship in three ways. First, it extends diffusion theory by identifying personnel mobility as a distinct mechanism of policy performance diffusion. Second, it advances organizational learning theory by showing how managerial practices and knowledge moves through career networks. Third, it evaluates leadership mobility as a non-fiscal strategy for strengthening organizational capacity. Findings have direct implications for organizations recruit public managers, design succession pipelines, and structure incentives for experienced leaders to serve high-need communities. More broadly, the study demonstrates how leadership mobility can shape policy implementation capacity, equity, and organizational performance across public sector.

Authors

• Yuseon Keum, Florida State University
  Presenting Author

• Eunju Rho, Northern Illinois University
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Hongtao Yi, Florida State University
  Non-Presenting Co-Author