Hester Paanakker

terms of quantitative causality. Finally, the thesis derived a considerable number of propositions on street-level behaviors and attitudes that may be explained by high value divergence and that necessitate further causal examination. This includes propositions on the relationships between value divergence and job satisfaction, work and policy alienation, and change willingness – the further exploration of which can advance our knowledge in these fields of study (cf. T. Evans, 2013; Lipsky, 1980; Tummers & Den Dulk, 2013; Tummers, Steijn, & Bekkers, 2012). Finally, it is possible that the positive effects of value convergence on public service delivery are overshadowed by the strong (perception of) value divergence in this study. It remains to be seen whether public service cases not only with convergence on ideal values, but also convergence on value prioritization and enactment in practice, are exempted from or less gravely impacted by the negative effects on public service delivery found in this study. For instance, do cases with more value convergence between different levels actually encounter fewer implementation problems, moral dilemmas, job frustration, or toxic inter-level relationships, or is this only the perception that public officials have? And cases with even less value convergence, more of such negative frontline effects? To adequately address this question, future comparative studies are encouraged that will select cases that differ in the extent and manifestation of value convergence. 7.3 Academic Contributions What, then, can be regarded as the main contributions of this thesis to the academic field? There are three that I want to highlight in particular: the added value of the perspective of frontline craft, the advancement of knowledge on the complexity of public value convergence, and the advancement of knowledge on the importance of value convergence to public service delivery. Added value of the perspective of frontline craft. Although public values research often underlines the contextuality of public values, a limited number of studies address this empirically, or have it as their main analytical focus. Theoretically and methodologically, considering public values from the perspective of frontline craft has proven to be a powerful framework for addressing the context-dependency of public values and to examine how public values acquire meaning in actual practice (cf. L. B. Andersen et al., 2012; Rutgers, 2008). From a bottom-up perspective of public officials’ signification and construction, the study shows how the application of concrete skills, knowlegde, and practices at street-level, and the conflicts 172 Chapter 7