Automation and discretion: explaining the effect of automation on how street-level bureaucrats enforce

A dominant assumption in the street-level bureaucracy literature is that bureaucrats’ discretion curtailed by automated systems. Drawing on survey and factual data (n = 549) from Dutch inspectors, we test effect of automation enforcement style whether this can be explained discretion-as-perceived. Our results show (1) increases legal accommodation style; (2) discretion-as-perceived does not mediate effect; but (3) decrease The main implication do find empirical evidence for curtailment future research should move beyond to understand effects digital systems behaviour.