Methodological construct for studying quantitative indicators in municipal government

Introduction. In this article, the author builds a methodological construct for the study of the possibilities of quantitative indicators to be a reliable tool for evaluating the effectiveness of municipal management. The relevance of this topic is justified by the fact that quantitative indicators have become an alternative indicator, which is currently used in the management practices of local government to measure the effectiveness of its work. Meanwhile, there is reason to assume that quantitative indicators in the current conditions can potentially lead to an increase in the processes of imitation and surrogation in municipal government. Methods. The main methods of this research are comparative analysis, document analysis, and application of the principles of operationalism. The purpose of the study is to develop a methodological construct to study the ability of quantitative indicators to be a reliable indicator of the effectiveness of municipal management. The results and their discussion. The methodological foundation on which the research is based on the concept of institutional matrices by S.G. Kirdina and the theory of human and social capital by J. Coleman. S.G. Kirdina’s theory allows methodologically substantiating the possibility of studying municipal management when corporate tools of the neoliberal model (Y-matrix) are used, and management patterns are formed in the command and administrative (X-matrix) management culture. This makes it possible to see the problems and difficulties that municipal authorities face when working when neoliberal technologies are at the heart of management activities. Evaluation of labor efficiency by key performance indicators is possible only if the working conditions meet all necessary requirements. In the context of our research, these include a positive correlation of interests and resources among the subjects of municipal government. Municipal managers who work in the interests of the local community and have the necessary resources to implement them will be able to prove their effectiveness with real deeds, while opportunistic managers who do not represent the local community and do not have the necessary resources to make important decisions will be able to confirm their effectiveness only by manipulating quantitative performance indicators, that is, resorting to surrogations. We see further prospects for the study in conducting expert surveys and in-depth interviews with Russian municipal managers at different levels of government.