An ambiguous perspective on public administration

Ambiguity is highly relevant to the practice and study of government and governance processes that engage a public that holds different perspectives on the qualities and characteristics of the public interest. Ambiguity theory, as an interdisciplinary collection of theories and hypotheses about the nature of interpretation and sense-making in social or organizational settings, offers depth and sophistication in understanding the causal pathways between ambiguities and core challenges faced by public organizations and has the potential to inform many key research questions across the field. The authors examine how ambiguity theory influences public administration scholarship and outline the benefits and challenges to its further development. Conclusions suggest that while ambiguity theory needs more development and further research in public administration, it has significant potential to rejuvenate thinking by reimagining the interconnections across public administration scholarship.