Micro-municipal administration: a review and network-based framework

Abstract

Purpose

Micro-municipalities are a widespread form of local government worldwide. However, research into micro-municipalities is often fragmented across various disciplines (e.g. public management, urban studies, etc.), limiting our understanding of the diverse influences impacting micro-municipal administration. Here, we review the literature on micro-municipalities and investigate the network relationships affecting their administration.

Design/methodology/approach

We performed a systematic literature review on micro-municipal administration. We adopted a network perspective for analysing the sample articles, which helps identify the multiple nodes that influence micro-municipalities’ administration, the drivers of relationships between the nodes, and the direction and flow of authority between these nodes.

Findings

We propose a network-based framework of micro-municipal administration that incorporates tailored interventions and support from higher government levels, adaptive stakeholder engagement, residents’ active participation, and responsive leadership.

Originality/value

This is the first systematic literature review of micro-municipalities and the first to propose a network-based framework for their effective governance.

Citation

Cristofaro, M., Cucari, N., Zannoni, A., Laviola, F., Monda, A., Liberato Lo Conte, D., Schilleci, P., Girma Haylemariam, L. and Mare, S.M. (2024), "Micro-municipal administration: a review and network-based framework", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-02-2024-0041

1. Introduction

Micro-municipalities, defined as local government units with around 5,000 residents (Giacomini et al., 2018; United Nations, 2019), make up the majority of local public entities worldwide [1]. In the United States, approximately 76% of its nearly 19,500 municipalities have fewer than 5,000 residents; among these, nearly 42% have fewer than 500 residents (Statista, 2019). Similarly, in Europe, 47% of municipalities have populations under 5,000 (OECD, 2018). Micro-municipalities are considered integral to national and regional cultural heritage and also play a pivotal role in sustainability efforts (Baiocco et al., 2023), a key driver for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN Tourism, 2023).

Unlike cities, which are generally geographically large, densely populated with overseen by large bureaucratic administrations (Martin, 1990), micro-municipalities take a more streamlined and less structured approach. Micro-municipality administrators have a close relationship with their citizens, which means stakeholders expect high levels of transparency and accountability (Atkinson, 2019). Low staffing levels and limited finances are common features of micro-municipalities, potentially challenging their ability to provide essential services and maintain infrastructure (Flora, 2018). Hence, micro-municipality administration often relies on collaboration among various stakeholders, including society, residents, and administrators. Therefore, a network perspective is useful to investigate the administration of micro-municipalities (Zhang et al., 2021).

Despite an established stream of research into the administrative aspects of micro-municipalities (e.g. Kasymova and Schachter, 2014; Lara-Rubio et al., 2022), including studies published in the International Journal of Public Sector Management (e.g. Giacomini et al., 2018; Janousek et al., 2024), there remains limited understanding of the diverse influences impacting micro-municipal administration. This potentially leads to ineffective administration, misallocation of resources, and an inadequate response to current challenges.

To address this gap, we performed a systematic literature review of 30 articles. By adopting a network perspective (Dimitrijevska-Markoski and Nukpezah, 2022; Naveed and Azhar, 2022), we identified the four most significant nodes influencing micro-municipal administration, that is, society, stakeholders, residents, and administrators, and investigated what drives these relationships, and the direction and flow of authority between these nodes. This approach highlights the complex and interdependent dynamics among these entities. By proposing a network-based framework for micro-municipal administration, our study advances theoretical understanding, illustrating how tailored interventions, adaptive stakeholder engagement, active resident participation, and responsive leadership are essential for effective governance in micro-municipalities. The framework provides a nuanced perspective that, unlike traditional bureaucratic models, emphasises the need for flexible and inclusive administrative strategies suited to the unique socio-economic and governance challenges faced by smaller local entities. By delineating the distinctive relationships and dynamics inherent in micro-municipal administration, our study offers actionable insights for enhancing community wellbeing and administrative efficiency (Giacomini et al., 2018; Previtali, 2015). It advocates for policies that support local networks and encourage collaborative governance approaches, thereby fostering transparency, resilience, and community engagement.

This article is structured as follows. Section 2 establishes the network governance theory principles. Section 3 details the research methodology. Section 4 presents the literature review and analysis. Section 5 proposes our framework, while section 6 discusses the theoretical and practical implications of this work and suggests directions for future research. Section 7 concludes and acknowledges the limitations of the study.

2. Theoretical background

The network perspective in administration has evolved over the past 50 years, originating at the intersection of organisational science, political science, and public administration (Klijn and Koppenjan, 2012). The network is considered a valuable organisational form for solving complex problems (Koliba et al., 2017). Public administration practice, defined as the direction of human and material resources in a public sector organisation to achieve specific goals (Koliba et al., 2017) underpins network dynamics in a public entity. This includes activities such as planning, organising, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting (Gulick and Urwick, 2004), which are essential for maintaining efficient and effective public sector operations. Following Klijn and Koppenjan (2012) and Hristov et al. (2024), we understand networks as encompassing at least two fundamental elements: actors/nodes and interdependency, which we outline in the following subsections.

2.1 Actors/nodes

The formation and delivery of public administration practices occur via interactions across related interdependent actors/nodes (Rhodes, 1997), which may consist of individuals or groups. Individuals may be key local officials, department heads, and community leaders. As nodes, these individuals hold strategic positions that facilitate communication flow and decision-making. They often act as bridges, connecting various sub-networks, and can disseminate information rapidly and effectively. Their centrality and high connectivity enable them to influence policy, mobilise resources, and coordinate actions across different sectors. Other individuals, such as opinion leaders or prominent community figures, may not hold official positions but have significant social capital and trust, and thus can also act as nodes, playing critical roles in shaping public opinion and driving community initiatives.

Groups may be administrative groups, such as interdepartmental committees and task forces that facilitate cross-functional collaboration and policy implementation, or community-based organisations, such as non-government organisations (NGOs) and neighbourhood associations that advocate for local interests and mobilise resources (Kapucu and Hu, 2020). These groups act as nodes in “social learning systems” where practitioners join in solving problems, sharing ideas, setting standards, building mechanisms, and developing relationships with peers and stakeholders.

2.2 Interdependency

Social connections in networks are typically analysed in terms of relationship drivers, the direction of the relationship between nodes, and the flow of authority across the relationship through which resource exchange is facilitated. Relationship drivers shape interactions among nodes in systems (Hristov et al., 2024), including in micro-municipalities, influencing how they collaborate and achieve goals. In micro-municipalities, these drivers include economic, social, political, and organisational elements, such as institutional arrangements, community engagement practices, organisational dynamics, and governance principles like transparency and adaptability. Understanding these drivers is crucial for efficient administration and community development. The direction of the relationship between nodes can be positive, driven by shared goals and trust, enhancing collaboration and decision-making, or negative, characterised by conflicting interests or unequal power dynamics, hindering cooperation and possibly leading to inefficiencies. Neutral relationships may occur when formal agreements structure interactions without significantly influencing collaboration dynamics. The flow of authority across a tie, that is, the links between nodes, function as channels, both material and social, through which resources are transferred from one node to another. At the theoretical level, the flow of authority across ties is explained by: (1) the principles of social exchange theory in which actors enter into a social network for a reason, often resource acquisition or some kind of goal attainment (Rhodes, 1997) [2]; and (2) the principles of agency theory (Jensen and Meckling, 1976), which posits that within hierarchical relationships (such as principal–agent dynamics), agents may pursue their own interests, potentially diverging from the principal’s goals. From these theoretical bases, Koliba et al. (2017) identify four different kinds of flow of authority across ties that we adopt in the context of our study as follows.

• (1)

  Command and Control. In micro-municipal administration, the command and control flow of authority between two nodes is shaped by hierarchical norms where one node (the principal, such as a city manager) directs another (the agent, such as a department head). The principal expects compliance from the agent, who follows given directives.

• (2)

  Concession and Compromise. This form of authority emerges from negotiations among actors, often involving bargaining and compromise. This negotiated authority relies on incentives, compromises, and concessions, fostering compliance through reciprocal exchanges instead of strict top-down commands. This approach recognises the complex distribution of resources and influence among stakeholders, underscoring the importance of consensus-building decision-making in micro-municipal administration (Kickert et al., 1997).

• (3)

  Cooperation and Collaboration. These relationships are underpinned by mutual trust, making compliance a product of social norms. The term “collaborate” describes relationships between peers where power is based on trust and reciprocity. These ties rely on social norms of trust, which economise on transaction costs and minimise opportunistic behaviour. Durability of relationships, a foundation of cooperation, is built over time through trial-and-error learning and imitation of successful past interactions.

• (4)

  Competition. Competition underscores the drive for self-preservation and resource acquisition amidst scarcity. Competition is seen as a catalyst for efficiency and innovation within administrative networks, often leveraging market forces to improve public service delivery through concepts like contracting out and privatisation.

The network perspective described above is particularly relevant in micro-municipalities, where tightly woven connections among residents and local administrators foster community participation and transparent administration (Klijn and Koppenjan, 2012).

3. Methodology

The systematic literature review (SLR) methodology is considered the most appropriate research design to consolidate and synthesise academic research (Tranfield et al., 2003). We followed an established process to perform this SLR, as shown in supplementary material S1 and detailed in the following eight steps. Inclusion and exclusion criteria for articles are detailed separately in supplementary material S2 (as in Mora et al., 2023), where we outline that four inclusion criteria (INC 1, INC 2, INC 3, and INC 4) and four exclusion criteria (EXC 1, EXC 2, EXC 3, and EXC 4) have been adopted, as follows.

• (1)

  As in other recent SLRs (Cristofaro, 2022; Hristov et al., 2024) we used several databases to search for articles: Business Source Complete (EBSCO), Econlit, ISI Web of Science, Elsevier’s Scopus, and ProQuest’s ABI/Inform. As per EXC. 1 criterion, we excluded articles not indexed in highly reputable scientific databases.

• (2)

  We limited our search to only peer-reviewed journal articles published in English. As per EXC. 1 and EXC. 2 criteria, we excluded books, book chapters, conference proceedings, theses, and review articles not written in English. The research was not restricted to a given starting period (end period December 2023), and we did not apply any journal exclusion criteria.

• (3)

  As per INC. 3 criterion, we selected articles that include at least one of the following keywords: “municipal*” or “village*” or “town*” or “city” or “cities” or “suburb* or “hamlet*” or “borough*” or “burg* or “local*” or “urban” or “settlement*” to capture a wide range of contexts pertinent to micro-municipalities [3]. The asterisk at the end of a search word allows for different suffixes. We reached 68,563 hits.

• (4)

  As per INC. 4 criterion, we filtered for articles including at least one of the following keywords: “admin*” “manage*” or “govern*”, to capture studies focused on the administration, management, and governance of the micro-municipal entities that were the subject of articles selected by INC. 3 criterion. We initially included the potentially misleading term “govern*” (since administration and governance are two different concepts and practices) to ensure that relevant studies were not omitted due to variations in terminology. The asterisk at the end of a search word allows for different suffixes. We reached 6,567 hits.

• (5)

  We eliminated duplicates using reference-manager software; 4,290 hits remained.

• (6)

  From the 4,290 hits, we scanned articles by reading their titles and abstracts to ensure their substantive context was consistent with the aim of our review. Given our specific focus on the public administration of micro-municipalities (INC 2 and INC 3 criteria), we excluded articles that addressed aspects of real estate, architecture, or urban planning (EXC. 4 criterion). This process resulted in a sample of 598 articles.

• (7)

  The remaining articles were read in full to ensure their alignment with the research objective: contributing to the administration of municipalities (EXC 4 criterion). We excluded articles that did not specifically identify municipality size or at least give cues to municipality size (i.e. population less than 5,000) because we could not be sure if these articles were focused on micro-municipalities (EXC 3 criterion). This resulted in a sample of 27 articles. Cronbach’s alpha regarding inter-rater reliability was 0.84.

• (8)

  Posing as a starting point the sample of 27 articles as per step 7, we added three articles after using backward and forward snowballing [4]. The final sample comprises 30 articles.

For steps 6 and 7, three authors individually read the articles, then compared their evaluation. If there was disagreement, the authors re-assessed their reports and decided whether to include the articles within the sample or otherwise. Cronbach’s alpha in relation to inter-rater reliability was 0.85.

For each article, we collected/coded articles by (1) year, (2) author(s), (3) journal, (4) research question/goal/aim of the article, (5) type of article, (6) adopted theory, (7) data collection, (8) study setting, (9) data analysis, (10) size of the studied micro-municipality, (11) node 1 and node 2 influencing the micro-municipality administration, (12) drivers of the relationship between nodes, (13) the direction of the relationship (positive, neutral, or negative), (14) the flow of authority governing the relationship, and (15) the public administration practice.

As depicted in supplementary material S3, and following the already introduced network-based perspective, our coding was focused on the identification of these two themes: (1) actors/nodes; and (2) interdependency between nodes. The codes pertaining to the first (node 1 and node 2) represent the entities in the network that influence micro-municipality administration. Interdependency codes (relationship drivers, direction and flow of authority governing the relationship) are respectively the product of: inductive coding of relationship drivers linking nodes 1 and 2 in the literature reviewed; deductive coding of the direction of the relationship between nodes (positive, negative, neutral); deductive coding of the flow of authority between the nodes (i.e. command and control, concession and compromise, cooperation and collaboration, competition). The total sample of articles is provided in supplementary material S2. Based on the identified nodes and relationships we built a framework for micro-municipal administration following a network perspective.

4. Results

4.1 Description of the sample

This sub-section provides descriptive statistics for the investigated sample regarding the (1) distribution of articles over time, (2) the distribution of articles by journal, (3) the adopted theoretical perspective, (4) the adopted data collection and analysis methods, (5) the criteria considered for defining the micro-municipality, (6) public administration practices, (7) the geographical distribution of the analysed micro-municipalities. The entities/nodes affecting micro-municipal administration are identified and presented in this sub-section.

There were few articles produced between 2007 and 2017 but a notable increase from 2018 to 2023. The low rate of publication of articles suggests that debate in the academic literature about the administration of micro-municipalities is a relatively niche topic despite their relevance in public administration (see supplementary material S4).

Regarding journal distribution, the most prolific outlet is Cities (N = 4; 13%), and there is one article (Giacomini et al., 2018) published in IJPSM. Detailed distribution is provided in supplementary material S5. In terms of theoretical perspective adopted, good governance is the most prevalent (13%), followed by stakeholder theory (9%) (see supplementary material S6 for full details). The most common method for data collection is secondary data, accounting for 27% of articles, followed by interviews (24%); accordingly, the descriptive approach was the most frequently used data analysis method (29%) (see supplementary material S7).

Regarding the adopted criteria used for defining a micro-municipality, the number of inhabitants is the most adopted, and 25 articles (83%) identify this form of local entity as having no more than 5,000 inhabitants (see supplementary material S8 for full details). Among public administration practices, 63% of the articles in the sample deal with urban regeneration (N = 11; 37%) and inter-administrative relations (N = 8; 27%). The remaining 37% of the sample focuses on the topics of transparency (N = 5; 16%), public service commitment (N = 3; 10%), and financial management (N = 3; 10%) (see supplementary material S9 for full details).

Concerning the geographical distribution of the analysed micro-municipalities, 70% of the sample is represented by Indonesia (33%), China (27%), and Italy (10%).

Finally, the research uncovers four nodes that affect micro-municipal administration.

• (1)

  Society: encompassing citizens, media, political parties, and universities.

• (2)

  Stakeholders: includes various entities such as local self-administrations, entrepreneurs, investors, bureaucratic agencies, and informal community leaders.

• (3)

  Residents: citizens subject to the influence of the administration who can in turn actively influence the administration;

• (4)

  Administrators: this node encompasses the formal leadership and administrative structures.

In Table 1, we present a comprehensive summary of network influences on micro-municipal administration, focusing on the relationship drivers, the direction (positive, negative or neutral), and the flow of authority governing the relationship. All identified relationships are explained and investigated in the following sub-sections from the basis of the node driving the influence and the related public administration practice.

4.2 Impact of society on micro-municipal administration

The impact of society on micro-municipal administration has been the subject of studies in financial management, urban regeneration, and transparency related to public information disclosure.

Some evidence shows that socio-economic forces, such as higher unemployment, lower fiscal pressure, and higher per capita income, have a negative impact on the financial solvency of micro-municipalities (e.g. Lara-Rubio et al., 2022). On the one hand, unemployment and lower tax revenues decrease a municipality’s financial resources, increasing the risk of loan default. On the other hand, the growth rates in per capita income may generate a sense of overconfidence in public administrations, encouraging less prudent financial behaviours. From this perspective, it is worth noting that socio-economic drivers govern micro-municipalities’ operations through command and control authority flows. When local governments cannot influence socio-economic variables, central governments have more power and micro-municipalities have limited ability to contribute to the wellbeing of their citizens. Consequently, to improve the financial management of micro-municipalities, central governments should provide powerful incentives to administrations (e.g. by subsidising loan interest rates). They are encouraged to foster the application of policies tailored to local characteristics in terms of population size (Lara-Rubio et al., 2022).

Effective financial management is also crucial in urban regeneration projects, which are essential for the sustainable development of micro-municipalities. Analyses suggest that other socio-economic forces, such as poverty reduction and connections with large towns, are social drivers with a positive impact on the urban development of micro-municipalities (Tang et al., 2023). Nevertheless, due to the command and control power exerted by socio-economic forces on micro-municipal administration, centralised public intervention is crucial in fostering spatial planning and infrastructure investments in underdeveloped areas. To prevent financial and organisational instability, central governments should support adopting urban development policies promoting an integrated approach to the relationship between towns and micro-municipalities.

Finally, the relations between society and micro-municipalities are studied in terms of the adequate disclosure of public information. Indeed, as society in a broad sense has a command and control influence on the election of political representatives, several socio-economic variables can stimulate higher levels of transparency of municipalities. Social factors such as population size and unemployment rate are closely linked to the proactive transparency of micro-municipalities (Zagrapan and Spáč, 2022), that is, a larger population size increases the availability of important political and social resources and lower unemployment rates positively influence the disclosure of public information.

In conclusion, reflecting the constraining power exerted by socio-economic forces, the impact of society on micro-municipal administrations is characterised by high level of command and control flows of authority. Therefore, the intervention of central governments often plays a critical role in fostering the success and sustainability of micro-municipal administrative practices.

4.3 Impact of stakeholders on micro-municipal administration

The impact of stakeholders on micro-municipal administration is particularly important for studies investigating the effectiveness of inter-administrative relationships, and urban regeneration processes.

Central administration reforms frequently advocate for inter-municipal agreements to enhance the delivery of public services at the local level (Zhang and Holzer, 2020). Despite these efforts, research highlights a persistent 'collaborative inertia' among micro-municipalities. There is often resistance to stakeholder involvement in public service organisations, which are viewed more as a constraint than an opportunity. Additionally, concerns over increased transaction costs and potential loss of operational control dampen enthusiasm for the adoption of service-sharing arrangements (Previtali, 2015; Giacomini et al., 2018). Central governments’ view their involvement in inter-municipal negotiations as a strategic investment, particularly when formalised contractual arrangements enhance the efficiency of inter-administrative relationships. Such agreements, based on concession and compromise, become especially crucial with a larger number of stakeholders and when participating municipalities vary widely in terms of their political and economic conditions (Yi et al., 2018).

Given the above, emphasising the importance of organisational structures based on concessions and compromises emerging from negotiations, Giacomini et al. (2018) find that mandatory forms of inter-municipal cooperation have a positive impact on inter-administrative relationships. Indeed, existing research shows that micro-municipalities participating in properly structured and formalised collaborative arrangements significantly reduce their administrative costs and create a functional organisational framework for public service delivery (e.g. adequate spatial planning). Thus, laws fostering inter-municipal cooperation increase both the efficiency of public services and the institutional legitimacy of micro-municipalities.

Stakeholder involvement in local policy, particularly in strategic urban regeneration planning processes, is critical. Research indicates that involvement levels notably decline when stakeholders are not contractually obligated to participate in spatial planning (Vitálišová et al., 2021). While mayors and city council members maintain high levels of engagement throughout the planning stages of projects, citizen involvement peaks with vision and goal formulation then tends to decrease significantly during the implementation and monitoring phases. Furthermore, other stakeholders, such as the media, political parties, and universities participate only marginally across all stages of strategic planning. Given stakeholders' often limited awareness of their role in supporting policymaking (Sara and Saputra, 2021), local governments should promote collaborative authority flows. Enhancing stakeholder participation in local development processes is crucial for effective urban regeneration. Micro-municipalities can achieve this by implementing participatory tools that enhance information flows and foster two-way communication among actors involved in development.

In addition to public debate and the use of electronic tools for information flows, community leadership mechanisms are essential for improving collaborative and cooperative dynamics between stakeholders and micro-municipal administrations. Indeed, through interactive feedback processes, informal community leadership positively influences the effectiveness of local administration and inter-administrative relationships (Liu and Han, 2023). However, since informal community leaders do not hold official positions within hierarchical systems, they should gain credibility and strengthen their reputation by demonstrating impartial and reliable use of public power in managing resources and implementing effective collective actions (Steenbergen, 2016). Community leaders can also strategically organise followers to enhance their active and continuous participation and involvement in collective action.

Considering the above, stakeholders’ involvement in policymaking processes is essential to fostering the sustainable development of micro-municipalities. However, for stakeholder engagement to be effective, micro-municipalities need to leverage negotiated authority flows to reduce transaction and administrative costs. To encourage the participation of relevant stakeholders, micro-municipalities should promote adopting organisational structures based on collaboration and cooperation (e.g. public debate or community leadership).

4.4 Impact of residents on micro-municipal administration

This sub-section explores the impact of residents on micro-municipal administration by exploring the relationship drivers affecting financial management, public service commitment, and urban regeneration projects.

The financial management of micro-municipalities is positively affected by community commitment during public assemblies and forums, where residents make decisions about issues in the community (Jayawarsa et al., 2021). Public assemblies play a crucial role in community empowerment by providing a platform for individuals to collectively voice their concerns and participate in decision-making processes for the allocation of public resources. Moreover, to encourage community empowerment, micro-municipalities often organise forums where residents can express their needs directly. These approaches allow administrators to assess and address residents’ demands within specific financial parameters. Consequently, micro-municipalities should enhance social and cultural resources by adopting a nuanced approach that considers cultural diversity and local values when designing financial systems (Sonbay et al., 2022).

Concerning the impact of residents on micro-municipal administration, the importance of local elections and their implications for administration should not be underestimated. Elections in a small municipality can have a significant impact on local administration and public service commitment (Tan and Qiushui, 2007) because they encourage civic participation and strengthen collaborative and cooperative authority flows between residents and the micro-municipal administration. In turn, this promotes a stronger commitment to the common good and more responsible and transparent management of local resources. However, even when the general perception is that elections are free and fair, residents may be sceptical and ill-informed about the electoral process, suggesting the need for education, training, and continuous improvements in electoral rules and procedures.

Authority flows based on concession and compromise are crucial for promoting sustainable urban development. Zhang et al. (2022) highlight that collective self-governance, driven by negotiation and compromise, positively impacts urban regeneration projects. Negotiated authority, power-sharing, and decentralisation enhance efficiency in rural spatial planning. While micro-municipal administrations should support bottom-up approaches to balance rural and urban functions, top-down strategies remain essential for fostering infrastructure development (Tang et al., 2023). Balancing the perspectives of the elderly and young through nuanced interactions between informal and formal practices is also vital for inclusive and sustainable urban development (Kondratyev and Fadeeva, 2021). This interplay between residents and micro-municipal administrations, emphasising concession and compromise, forms the backbone of resilient and adaptable urban development.

The above findings suggest that residents’ involvement in decision-making processes is essential to foster inclusive and sustainable local policies. Moreover, due to electoral processes, residents’ political commitment supports greater accountability and transparency on the part of local political representatives. Therefore, relational dynamics between residents (stakeholders) and micro-municipal administrations should be characterised by collaborative and cooperative authority flows. However, conflicting interests and high organisational complexity mean that authority flows based on concession and compromise are more efficient in promoting positive relationships between residents and micro-municipal administrations.

4.5 Impact of administrators on micro-municipal administration and stakeholders

The impact of administrators on micro-municipal administration and stakeholders is significant, influencing the daily management and development of communities. In this context, existing research focuses on drivers of transparency and public service commitment.

Since the effectiveness of municipal fund fraud prevention systems often depends on civil servants reporting irregularities, micro-municipal administrators have a critical impact on the transparency of financial management. However, administrators’ attitude towards whistleblowing is constrained by command and control authority flows originating from the sociocultural environment. Research shows that family support, cooperative working environments, and female municipal leadership positively shape administrators’ attitude toward fraud reporting and administrative transparency (Pamungkas et al., 2020; Benito et al., 2021; Zagrapan and Spáč, 2022). Therefore, administrators’ transparent management stems from the intersection between effective fraud prevention strategies and controlling power exerted by sociocultural dynamics.

Administrators also influence micro-municipal administration through their commitment to public service. Furthermore, by fostering the protection of public interests, administrators’ motivation also inspires the commitment of residents and other relevant stakeholders (Liu et al., 2022). Since administrators’ motivation and reputation are important elements in bargaining and negotiation activities undertaken in networked relationships (Morris et al., 2007), administrators’ performance is inevitably linked to organisational structures based on concession and compromise. Micro-municipal administrations should strengthen civil servants’ motivation by achieving an optimal balance between incentives and contributions to promote administration effectiveness and commitment to public service.

Another element that positively impacts public service commitment is appointing members of the public as volunteers on boards. The issue of vacancies on boards indicates that increasing the size of boards may not be the best way to improve representativeness; instead, by strengthening collaborative and cooperative authority flows, appointing members of the public as voluntary members of boards is an important way to improve the efficiency of local administrations and commitment to public service (Dougherty and Easton, 2011).

Most of the sampled studies in this cluster find that public service commitment depends both on negotiating mechanisms designed to stimulate administrators’ motivation and on collaboration with highly trained and representative community stakeholders.

4.6 Impact of micro-municipal administration on stakeholders

This sub-section examines the impact of micro-municipal administration on stakeholders, analysing the drivers that foster inter-administrative relationships and urban regeneration processes.

Zaitul et al. (2023) identify six principles of good administration (i.e. equity, inclusiveness, legitimacy, participation, performance, transparency, and accountability) that support a more participatory, accountable, and inclusive administrative environment, positively impacting stakeholder trust and inter-administrative relationships. Therefore, by fostering collaborative and cooperative authority flows, the implementation of principles of good administration increases the efficiency of micro-municipal performance and the effectiveness of relations with relevant stakeholders.

Nonetheless, due to deficiencies in coordination and communication between administration and stakeholders, designing micro-municipal regulations may negatively impact inter-administrative relationships. Notably, the creation of new rules and procedures can bring several coordination challenges. Moreover, regulations may not adequately involve stakeholders, whose key issues may not be recognised and translated into effective rules because they cannot sufficiently participate in decision-making processes. In this sense, command and control authority flows emerge from micro-municipal regulations, with little involvement and autonomy on the part of local stakeholders (Fatimah et al., 2023). Thus, it is ultimately necessary to encourage effective coordination mechanisms and communication channels between administration and stakeholders to streamline administrative processes and promote a more participatory approach.

Finally, adopting tailored policies has a positive impact on urban regeneration processes promoted by micro-municipal administrations. Indeed, the effect of spatial policies on stakeholders may vary according to context (see, e.g. Pera, 2021) and factors influencing stakeholders’ perceptions of environmental improvement (see, e.g. Xiao et al., 2022). These challenges underline the complexity of urban regeneration and the need for customised strategies that incorporate local characteristics. Furthermore, actively involving stakeholders in decisions relevant to their needs and interests can influence local administration decision-making. Therefore, to improve the adaptation of urban policies to community needs micro-municipalities should enhance collaborative and cooperative authority flows, as they foster effective communication with stakeholders and facilitate joint efforts for community development (see also Kondratyev and Fadeeva, 2021; Zhang et al., 2022).

These results emphasise the role of collaborative and cooperative authority flows in the relationships between micro-municipal administrations and stakeholders. Indeed, in the absence of collaboration and coordination, commanding and controlling authority flows emerging from micro-municipal regulations may not adequately engage stakeholders, undermining the effectiveness of inter-administrative relations. Therefore, trust and reciprocity mechanisms among actors are essential both to foster the application of principles of good administration and to incentivise stakeholder participation in policymaking processes.

4.7 Impact of micro-municipal administration on residents

This sub-section explores the impact of micro-municipal administration on residents by examining the relationship factors shaping the levels of transparency and effectiveness of urban regeneration policies.

Transparency is essential for residents’ trust and political participation. Management efficiency, low voter turnout, and low levels of corruption are key relationship drivers with a positive impact on micro-municipal administration transparency (Benito et al., 2021; Sofyani et al., 2023). High-performing and efficient municipalities emphasise disseminating information about their management to build trust and encourage political participation (Beeri et al., 2019). Similarly, low voter turnout incentivises politicians to provide more information about their achievements. Notably, low levels of corruption are also critical in encouraging high levels of proactive transparency as they improve administrative efficiency and accountability (see also Pamungkas et al., 2020). The above findings suggest that the practice of transparency is closely linked to the exchange of social and political resources between residents and micro-municipal administrations (see also Zagrapan and Spáč, 2022), hence authority flows based on concession and compromise assume a pivotal role within public information disclosure.

More generally, authority flows based on concession and compromise should be fostered to promote local development and to enable residents to genuinely participate in administrative decision-making processes (Kasymova and Schachter, 2014; Hidayat et al., 2019; Annahar et al., 2023). On the one hand, principles of negotiable administration have a positive impact on urban regeneration and spatial development policies (see also Kondratyev and Fadeeva, 2021; Zhang et al., 2022). On the other hand, negotiated authority flows are consistent with the broader goals of democratic, accountable, and inclusive administration. Not surprisingly, residents’ active participation in local development projects also enhances their resilience and economic empowerment through the formalisation of informal economic activities (Zhang et al., 2019). However, to expand residents’ negotiating capacity and achieve authentic inclusive administration, micro-municipalities should implement participatory tools that allow citizens to provide effective feedback (e.g. public debate, community report cards, and budget discussion).

These findings suggest that negotiated authority flows between micro-municipal administrations and residents are essential to foster inclusive and accountable administration. In particular, organisational structures based on incentives, concessions, and compromises not only promote administrations’ proactive transparency but are also an essential driver of effective urban regeneration policies.

5. Discussion

Using a network perspective, we identified the nodes within the network of micro-municipal administration, that is, society, stakeholders, residents, and administrators, the relationship drivers, the directions of those relationships, and the flow of authority governing them. A network-based framework of micro-municipal administration is proposed in Figure 1.

The framework illustrates a dynamic and interdependent system where each node—society, stakeholders, residents, and administrators—plays a pivotal role in influencing and being influenced by distinct flows of authority and effects. This interconnectedness underscores the complexity of micro-municipal administration dynamics. Based on the results of the SLR outlined in section 4, we find to shape the relationships with and between these nodes, micro-municipal administrations should respectively implement: (1) tailored interventions and support from higher government levels; (2) adaptive stakeholder engagement; (3) residents’ active participation; and (4) responsive leadership.

Society’s profound influence on micro-municipal administration, encompassing stakeholders, such as citizens, media, and local educational bodies, underscores a departure from traditional city administration norms. The relationship between society and micro-municipal administration is characterised by a command and control flow of authority, as micro-municipalities are often shaped by broader societal dynamics (Lara-Rubio et al., 2022). In contrast, cities wield greater influence over societal factors due to their larger scale and capacity for broader impact. Socio-economic factors like unemployment rates and per capita income levels significantly impact local financial management and administration, requiring tailored interventions and support from higher government levels (e.g. Tang et al., 2023), in the form of resources and frameworks that enhance administrative capacity for micro-municipalities. These tailored interventions should be undertaken at the micro-municipal level because micro-municipalities are uniquely positioned to understand and respond to their communities' needs, with local-level solutions enabling socio-economic conditions to be addressed effectively.

Micro-municipalities face unique challenges in stakeholder engagement, operating in a more fluid landscape compared to larger cities, which have formalised participation frameworks. Local self-administrations and community leaders play pivotal roles in decision-making, relying on informal networks and personal relationships to navigate administrative complexities (Giacomini et al., 2018). Stakeholder interactions vary from governance through concession and compromise to collaboration, requiring adept management of authority flows via inter-municipal agreements and community-driven initiatives (Previtali, 2015; Zhang and Holzer, 2020). Unlike cities, micro-municipalities often adopt adaptive stakeholder engagement mechanisms involving partnerships with other local entities, organisations, and businesses, alongside local advisory committees and specific initiatives designed to involve diverse stakeholders not just residents (Yi et al., 2018; Previtali, 2015; Zhang and Holzer, 2020). These strategies are crucial for promoting inclusive governance, transparency, and responsiveness to local priorities within resource-constrained environments.

Residents' active participation is a unique characteristic of micro-municipal administration that sets it apart from city administrations (Jayawarsa et al., 2021; Tan and Qiushui, 2007). Micro-municipalities empower residents through direct involvement in assemblies, local advisory committees, town hall meetings, and volunteer programs, fostering local democracy and responsive administration. The link between residents and micro-municipal administration ranges from governance to concession and compromise to collaboration. This close relationship enables micro-municipalities to respond rapidly to community needs but requires mechanisms to ensure inclusive representation across diverse demographics (Zhang et al., 2022). Unlike cities, which have varying levels of voter turnout, micro-municipalities must actively engage to foster civic participation if they are to achieve inclusive administrative outcomes reflective of community aspirations (Sonbay et al., 2022).

City administrations have established bureaucratic hierarchies, whereas micro-municipal administrators face the conflicting tensions of local expectations and external regulatory frameworks (Liu et al., 2022). The link between administrators and micro-municipal administration also ranges from governance through concession and compromise to collaboration. Negotiating authority flows within these smaller settings is critical for balancing administrative autonomy with demands for transparency, accountability, and effective public service delivery (Pamungkas et al., 2020). Fostering environments that nurture administrators' commitment to public service while aligning with community expectations and regulatory standards is crucial, especially within the resource-constrained environments typical of micro-municipalities (Benito et al., 2021). This requires administrators to exhibit responsive leadership, capable of adapting strategies to the specific needs and dynamics of the local community (Keyes et al., 2019). Through responsive leadership administrators can enhance the legitimacy of local administration and foster a resilient administrative structure that meets the diverse demands of micro-municipalities.

The above elements differentiate micro-municipalities from city administrations for the effective government of relationships, emphasising the need for tailored administrative strategies that harness local strengths while addressing distinct challenges.

6. Implications

6.1 Implications for theory and future research

Our study challenges traditional views of singular authority in micro-municipal administration by proposing a network-based framework that illustrates the distributed nature of authority among stakeholders, administrators, and residents (Bell and Hindmoor, 2009). This contribution to theory supports the role of adaptive administrative networks, emphasising the need to rethink conventional bureaucratic models in favour of collaborative, inclusive, and responsive approaches (Koliba et al., 2017).

Further, based on the relationships – both realised and potential – among the four main entities that influence micro-municipal administration (society, stakeholders, residents, and administrators), we identify directions for future research (see supplementary material S10), and call for a better definition of municipalities and refinement of methodologies for their investigation. Due to space limitations, we focus on research trajectories that investigate relationships not already examined in previous research (see also Figure 1).

In terms of the micro-municipality definition, we argue that researchers and policymakers should move beyond population size, because it is applied differently in different contexts (e.g. US Census Bureau, 2012). Instead, we argue that future research should incorporate geographical, economic, social, and cultural dimensions into the definition of micro-municipalities.

We highlight future research trajectories that can explore the impact of society on residents’ behaviour. This could incorporate factors such as socioeconomic status, educational attainment, and cultural norms and how these influence community dynamics and administration practices. For instance, researchers could investigate how varying levels of income inequality within a micro-municipality affect social cohesion and collective action or how educational initiatives within the community shape civic engagement and participation. Additionally, understanding the role of cultural values in fostering trust and cooperation among residents could provide deeper insights into the mechanisms that support or hamper effective community administration.

Concerning the effect of administrators on society, future studies could focus on the role of local administrators as facilitators of community development initiatives and social welfare programs that contribute to society’s overall wellbeing. This research avenue could examine how administrators prioritise and implement development projects, such as infrastructure improvements, health services, and educational programs, and assess their impacts on the quality of life and social equity within a community (Pera, 2021; Xiao et al., 2022).

The influence of administrators on residents could be explored by examining the effectiveness of communication strategies employed by local administrators for the involvement and knowledge of residents in local administration. This could involve evaluating the various channels and methods used to disseminate information and solicit feedback from residents, such as town hall meetings, digital platforms, or community bulletins (Sara and Saputra, 2021; Vitálišová et al., 2021). Additionally, exploring best practices implemented by municipal administrators in promoting social cohesion and community involvement could highlight the role of leadership in fostering a sense of community and collective responsibility. This could include studying successful initiatives that encourage volunteerism (Dougherty and Easton, 2011), community events that build social ties, and programs that support marginalised groups within the municipality.

We also suggest methodological enhancements for research on micro-municipal administration. Existing studies predominantly employ a case study methodology, utilising interviews and secondary data collection. Embracing methodological pluralism, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, offers a more comprehensive understanding of a phenomena under study. Integrating quantitative data on financial performance and service delivery with qualitative insights from interviews provides a balanced perspective. Longitudinal studies can further enhance understanding by tracking the impact of policy changes, leadership transitions, and economic shifts on micro-municipality performance over time, revealing trends and causal relationships often overlooked in cross-sectional studies.

6.2 Implications for policymakers

The network perspective on micro-municipal administration developed here provides actionable insights for policymakers seeking to improve administrative structures and foster community wellbeing. Our study underscores the need for policy interventions that reflect the unique authority dynamics and relationships identified in micro-municipal administration.

First, policymakers should encourage integrated approaches that recognise the distinct flow of authority between society and micro-municipal administration, which is governed by a command and control dynamic. Policymakers must facilitate this relationship by promoting inclusive policies that cater to the direct and immediate interactions characteristic of micro-municipalities. To this end, developing and enforcing clear policies that outline the responsibilities and expectations of all stakeholders will promote transparency and accountability (Tang et al., 2023; Monda et al., 2023).

Second, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public services requires actively involving stakeholders through policies fostering collaboration. The relationship between stakeholders and micro-municipal administration is characterised by varying degrees of authority, from concession and compromise to full collaboration. Policymakers should support the creation of formal agreements that delineate roles and responsibilities to facilitate shared resource management but also promote a stronger sense of community belonging (Giacomini et al., 2018). This can also help reduce administrative costs and establish a robust organisational framework for public service delivery (Previtali, 2015).

Third, economic policy should support local network development through the establishment of local supply chains and the promotion of local entrepreneurship. Policymakers should implement economic strategies that align with the micro-municipal administration’s need to negotiate authority with stakeholders, fostering an environment where local businesses can thrive. This approach not only creates job opportunities but also strengthens community identity and economic resilience, which are vital for the sustainable development of micro-municipalities (Pera, 2021; Xiao et al., 2022).

Finally, policymakers should facilitate residents' active participation in decision-making processes, as the relationship between residents and micro-municipal administration ranges from concession and compromise to collaboration. This requires policies that promote inclusive participation through personalised strategies tailored to local contexts, enhancing community empowerment and satisfaction (Jayawarsa et al., 2021). Initiatives such as continuous education programs and improvements to electoral processes are essential for ensuring that all residents are well-informed and actively engaged in governance.

6.3 Implications for public managers/administrators

The study highlights the crucial role of public managers and administrators in effectively managing micro-municipal administration, particularly in navigating the complex dynamics of authority flows and stakeholder interactions.

First, involving all stakeholders in the network is essential. Administrators, as central nodes, should actively engage key stakeholders, including council members, entrepreneurs, and investors. The relationship between administrators and stakeholders, which ranges from concession and compromise to collaboration, requires administrators to be proactive in facilitating engagement and collaboration. Public managers should establish effective communication channels and coordination mechanisms to streamline administrative processes and foster a participatory approach. Recognising and involving informal community leaders can enhance the administration’s legitimacy and effectiveness by ensuring dynamic feedback and adaptive responses to community needs (Liu and Han, 2023; Sara and Saputra, 2021; Vitálišová et al., 2021; Fatimah et al., 2023).

Second, to ensure efficient and effective micro-municipality management, public managers must adopt inclusive and transparent practices that incorporate all network nodes, including citizens. The relationship between residents and administration, which involves both concession and collaboration, underscores the need for administrators to implement participatory tools such as public assemblies and forums. These tools should facilitate a continuous flow of information, fostering community commitment and empowerment. Education and training programs are crucial for improving citizens’ involvement in, and the overall functionality of, the network. Policymakers should support these initiatives to enhance interconnected relationships within the network and ensure broader participation in governance (Annahar et al., 2023; Jayawarsa et al., 2021).

Finally, responsive leadership is imperative for maintaining balance and adaptability within the network. Administrators must recognise the diverse dynamics within the community, where authority flows can vary from strict governance to collaborative engagement. By adopting inclusive leadership approaches, administrators can address the needs and perspectives of different community segments, promoting resilience and inclusivity. A network-based approach allows for the identification of systemic inequities and enables targeted interventions that foster equity and accessibility. Public managers should aim to create a resilient and transparent network that supports effective administration and enhances community wellbeing by addressing barriers to participation and ensuring a balanced approach to governance (Liu and Han, 2023).

7. Conclusions

Although previous studies have investigated the administration of micro-municipalities (e.g. Kasymova and Schachter, 2014; Catlaw and Stout, 2016; Lara-Rubio et al., 2022), and their role in public administration (OECD, 2018; Statista, 2019), there is limited understanding of the complex relationships affecting micro-municipal administration.

The proposed framework aligns with the unique characteristics of micro-municipalities, which differ significantly from cities and larger public entities in their administrative dynamics. Operating on a smaller scale, micro-municipalities emphasise close connections between residents and local government, fostering community bonds and transparency (Bockmeyer, 2000). Due to their decentralised nature, micro-municipalities rely on internal networks and often establish external relationships with other micro-municipalities and cities to address financial and infrastructure challenges while preserving community identity (Dougherty and Easton, 2011). However, scaling these relationships can be complex. Unlike cities, micro-municipalities prioritise adaptable authority structures and collaborative engagement, leading to more rapid decision-making and stronger community cohesion (Kitchin et al., 2015). Despite these differences, integrated relationships between micro-municipalities and cities can drive mutual social and economic benefits, requiring policymaking that supports comprehensive local development (Tang et al., 2023).

This study has limitations. While the selection criteria for sampled articles were systematic, they introduced subjectivity and may not fully capture the diverse nuances of local contexts. The limited number of articles reviewed underscores the need for more interdisciplinary and participatory research methods. Future research should bridge these gaps by integrating cross-sectoral analyses and engaging stakeholders more comprehensively. By prioritising both quantitative and qualitative approaches suited to network-oriented public administration, we can gain a deeper understanding of micro-municipal dynamics and shape more effective and inclusive administrative structures.

Figures

Figure 1

A network framework of micro-municipalities’ administration emerging from the study’s findings

Table 1

Summary of identified network influences

Actors/Nodes		Interdependence			Public administration practice	References
Node 1	Node 2	Relationship driver(s)	Direction of the relationship	Flow of authority across the relationship
Society	Micro-municipal Administration	● Higher unemployment ● Lower fiscal pressure ● Higher per capita income	Negative	Command and control	Financial management	Lara-Rubio et al. (2022)
		● Poverty reduction ● Connections with towns	Positive	Command and control	Urban regeneration	Tang et al. (2023)
		● Higher population ● Lower unemployment	Positive	Command and control	Transparency	Zagrapan and Spáč (2022)
Stakeholders	Micro-municipal Administration	● Highly complete and formalised interlocal agreements	Positive	Concession and compromise	Inter-administrative relationships	Previtali (2015) Yi et al. (2018) Zhang and Holzer (2020)
		● Mandatory inter-municipal cooperation (IMC)	Positive	Concession and compromise	Inter-administrative relationships	Giacomini et al. (2018)
		● Stakeholder participation in local development	Positive	Collaboration and cooperation	Urban regeneration	Sara and Saputra (2021) Vitálišová et al. (2021)
		● Community leadership	Positive	Collaboration and cooperation	Inter-administrative relationships	Steenbergen (2016) Liu and Han (2023)
Residents	Micro-municipal Administration	● Public assemblies and forums	Positive	Collaboration and cooperation	Financial management	Jayawarsa et al. (2021) Sonbay et al. (2022)
		● Micro-municipal elections	Positive	Collaboration and cooperation	Public service commitment	Tan and Qiushui (2007)
		● Collective self-governance	Positive	Collaboration and cooperation	Urban regeneration	Kondratyev and Fadeeva (2021) Zhang et al. (2022)
Administrators	Micro-municipal Administration and Stakeholders	● Family support ● Cooperative working environment ● Female municipal leadership	Positive	Concession and compromise	Transparency	Pamungkas et al. (2020), Benito et al. (2021), Zagrapan and Spáč (2022)
		● Public service motivation	Positive	Concession and compromise	Public service commitment	Liu et al. (2022)
		● Appointing public volunteer board	Positive	Collaboration and cooperation	Public service commitment	Dougherty and Easton (2011)
Micro-municipal Administration	Stakeholders	● Good administration principles	Positive	Collaboration and cooperation	Inter-administrative relationships	Zaitul et al. (2023)
		● Designing of micro-municipal regulations	Negative	Command and control	Inter-administrative relationships	Fatimah et al. (2023)
		● Adopting tailored policies	Positive	Collaboration and cooperation	Urban regeneration	Pera (2021), Xiao et al. (2022)
Micro-municipal Administration	Residents	● Management efficiency ● Low voter turnout ● Low corruption levels	Positive	Concession and compromise	Transparency	Beeri et al. (2019) Benito et al. (2021), Sofyani et al. (2023)
		● Negotiable administration	Positive	Concession and compromise	Urban regeneration	Kasymova and Schachter (2014) Hidayat et al. (2019) Zhang et al. (2019) Annahar et al. (2023)

Source(s): Authors’ own elaboration

Notes

1. The definition provided in this article is derived from our investigation. There is no consensus on what constitutes a micro-municipality, with definitions varying based on geography and jurisdiction. Notably, municipalities in places like Delaware and Florida may be called cities, towns, or villages without significant classification differences for census purposes. Conversely, in Louisiana, a village is defined as a municipality with a population of 1,000 or fewer, while in Ohio, this limit is set at 5,000 inhabitants (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). This problem of definition is a worldwide one.

2. “The distribution, and type, of resources within a network explains the relative power of actors (individuals and organisations). Different types of governance networks will be distinguished by particular patterns of resource-dependency” (Rhodes, 1997, p. 11).

3. We initially included “town*” and “cit*” so as not to eliminate articles dealing with small municipalities.

4. Backward snowballing uses the reference lists of selected articles to find additional relevant studies, while forward snowballing identifies articles that cite the selected studies. For our review, we applied the same inclusion and exclusion criteria described in supplementary material S2 to the articles identified through snowballing.

Supplementary material

Table A1

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Code	Type	Focus	Reasons for inclusion or exclusion
INC. 1	Basic	Quali-quantitative and mixed empirical studies	Inclusion of articles that present empirical data and leverage quantitative, qualitative and mixed approaches
INC. 2	Basic	Theoretical articles	Inclusion of articles that elucidate theoretical frameworks, serving as a foundation for a deeper understanding of the empirical evidence and the theories underlying small municipality administration and governance
INC. 3	Thematic	Perspective	Search of terms such as “municipal*,” “village*,” “town*,” “city,” “cities,” “suburb*,” “hamlet*,” “borough*,” “burg*,” “local*,” “urban,” and “settlement*” to include articles set in a wide range of contexts pertinent to small municipal entities, avoiding the exclusion of articles that may use different, potentially misleading terms (e.g. town and city) for villages and small towns
INC. 4	Thematic	Perspective	Search of terms such as “admin*,” “manage*,” and “govern*” to capture studies focused on the administration, management, and governance of the small municipal entities subject of articles selected by INC. 3 criterion. Inclusion of articles discussing various aspects of public administration and management relevant to micro-municipalities
EXC. 1	Basic	Publication type and quality	Exclusion of books, book chapters, conference proceedings, theses, review articles. Exclusion of articles not indexed in highly reputable scientific databases
EXC. 2	Basic	Language	Exclusion of literature written in languages other than English
EXC. 3	Thematic	Unit of analysis	Exclusion of articles that did not provide the specific size (<5,000 inhabitants) of the small municipality under investigation
EXC. 4	Thematic	Perspective	Exclusion of articles not aligned with the research objective of contributing to municipality administration and governance (e.g. that addressed aspects of real estate, architecture, or urban planning)

Source(s): Authors’ own elaboration

Figure A1

PRISMA workflow of literature selection process

Table A2

Sample articles*

#	Year	Author(s)	Journal	Type of Paper	Adopted theory	Data collection	Study setting	Data analysis	Dimension of the micro-municipality
1	2023	Sofyani, H., Yaya, R. and Saleh, Z.	Financial Accountability and Management	Empirical Quantitative	Stakeholder theory; Legitimacy theory	Survey	4 micro-municipalities in Indonesia	Partial Least Square	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
2	2023	Fatimah, H., Suryadi, B. and Jamaluddin, J.	International Journal of Social Science Research and Review	Empirical Qualitative	Legal studies	Interviews, observation, and secondary data	1 micro-municipality in Indonesia	Descriptive approach	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
3	2023	Annahar, N., Widianingsih, I., Muhtar, E.A. and Paskarina, C.	Sustainability	Empirical Qualitative	Inclusive governance	Observation, interviews, and secondary data	4 micro-municipalities in Indonesia	Descriptive approach	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
4	2023	Tang, J., Gao, H., Song, X. and Xu, H.	Habitat International	Empirical Quantitative	Cumulative causation	Secondary data	Panel data of micro-municipalities in 30 provinces (municipalities or autonomous regions) in China	Regression analysis	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
5	2023	Liu, P. and Han, A.	Rural Sociology	Empirical Quantitative	Public leadership	Questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews	19 micro-municipalities in Shanghai	Probit model	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
6	2023	Zaitul, Z., Ilona, D. and Novianti, N.	Administrative Sciences	Empirical Quantitative	Good governance	Questionnaire	8 tourist destination micro-municipalities in Pariaman City	Structural Equation Model	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
7	2022	Lara-Rubio, A., Navarro-Galera, D., Buendía-Carrillo, D. and Gomez-Miranda, M.E.	Cities	Empirical quantitative	Institutional theory; Stakeholder theory	Archivial data	6,456 Spanish administrations	Logistic regression model	≤ 5,000
8	2022	Zagrapan, J. and Spáč, P.	Public Performance and Management Review	Empirical Quantitative	Proactive transparency	Secondary data	2,796 micro-municipalities in Slovakia	Logit regression	<1,000
9	2022	Sonbay, Y.Y., Tjahjadi, B. and Narsa, I.M.	International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management	Empirical Qualitative	Hofstede cultural theory	Secondary data	1 micro-municipality in Indonesia	Observation	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
10	2022	Zhang, Q., Ye, C. and Duan, J.	Journal of Rural Studies	Empirical Qualitative	Collaborative governance	Non-participatory observation, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups	1 micro-municipality in China	Historical socio-spatial analysis	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
11	2022	Liu, J., Wang, X. and Hou, Y.	SAGE Open	Empirical Quantitative	Public service motivation theory	Survey	118 micro-municipalities in China	Regression analysis	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
12	2022	Xiao, C., Zhou, J., Shen, X., Cullen, J., Dobson, S., Meng, F. and Wang, X.	Sustainability	Mixed	Good governance	Observation and interviews	2 micro-municipalities in China	Descriptive approach	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
13	2021	Vitálišová, K., Murray-Svidroňová, M. and Jakuš-Muthová, N.	Cities	Empirical - Mixed	Stakeholder theory	Survey data, archivial data, semi-structured interviews, Delphi	436 local self-governments in Slovakia	Nonparametric binomial test, a chi square test, a thematic organisation of qualitative data	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
14	2021	Benito, B., Guillamón, M. D. and Ríos, A.M.	Cities	Empirical Quantitative	–	Database on municipal transparency	118 Spanish micro-municipalities	Ordinary Least Squares (OLS)	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
15	2021	Jayawarsa, A. K., Purnami, A. S. and Saputra, K.A.K.	International Journal of Business, Economics and Law	Empirical Qualitative	Good governance	Interview	1 micro-municipality in Indonesia	Descriptive approach	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
16	2021	Sara, I. M. and Saputra, K.A.K.	International Journal of Business, Economics and Law	Empirical Qualitative	Good governance	Secondary Data	1 micro-municipality in Indonesia	Descriptive approach	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
17	2021	Pera, A.	Global Jurist	Empirical Qualitative	Legal studies	Secondary Data	3 micro-municipalities in Italy	Descriptive approach	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
18	2021	Kondratyev, M.V. and Fadeeva, O.P.	Regional Research of Russia	Empirical Qualitative	New institutional economic theory	Secondary data	4 micro-municipalities in Russia	Descriptive approach	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
19	2020	Zhang, P. and Holzer, M.	American Review of Public Administration	Empirical Quantitative	Local government studies	Survey and secondary data	232 micro-municipalities in New York	Content analysis; descriptive statistics	≤ 500 persons, but not containing more than 5 square miles
20	2020	Pamungkas, I. D., Wahyudi, S. and Achmad, T.	International Journal of Environmental Science	Empirical Qualitative	Whistleblowing studies	Interview	1 micro-municipality in Indonesia	Content analysis	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
21	2019	Zhang, Y., Long, H., Ma, L., Tu, S., Liao, L., Chen, K. and Xu, Z.	Cities	Mixed	Adaptive resilience theory	Semi-structured interview, survey, participant observation, secondary data	64 face-to-face in-depth interviews and 526 questionnaires in a Chinese micro-municipality	Factor analysis	3,000 inhabitants
22	2019	Beeri, I., Uster, A, and Vigoda-Gadot, E.	Public Performance and Management Review	Empirical Quantitative	–	Archivial data, Survey	Two separate but complementary samples at both the individual and institutional level (n = 1,978 and n = 45, respectively) Data from Israeli administrators	Multiple hierarchical regression analysis	The individual-level datasets come from various local municipalities (non emerge la dimensione delle local municipalities citate) The respondents came from 45 Israeli local authorities
23	2018	Giacomini, D., Sancino, A. and Simonetto, A.	International Journal of Public Sector Management	Empirical Quantitative	Studies on public networks	Survey	280 micro-municipalities in Italy	Logistic regression model	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
24	2019	Hidayat, R., Hendra, H. and Iptidaiyah, M.	Journal of Governance	Empirical Qualitative	Public administration studies	Observation, interviews, and secondary data	1 micro-municipality in Indonesia	Descriptive approach	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
25	2018	Yi, H., Suo, L., Shen, R., Zhang, J., Ramaswami, A. and Feiock, R.C.	Public Administration Review	Empirical Quantitative	Institutional Collective Action (ICA)	Archivial data, media reports	564 interlocal agreements on environmental sustainability from micro-municipalities in four regions in China	Content analysis of media reports and Regression analysis (Ordinal logistic regression model)	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
26	2016	Steenbergen, D.J.	Human Ecology	Empirical Qualitative	Public leadership	Ethnographic research	1 micro-municipality in Indonesia	Descriptive approach	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
27	2015	Previtali, P.	Public Administration Quarterly	Empirical Qualitative	Collaborative public management	Interviews	136 Italian micro-municipalities	Descriptive approach	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
28	2014	Kasymova, J.T. and Schachter, H.L.	Public Performance and Management Review	Empirical Qualitative	Theory of local public talk	Interview, secondary data	1 micro-municipality in Kyrgyzstan	Thematic analysis	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
29	2011	Dougherty, G.W. and Easton, J.E.	American Review of Public Administration	Empirical Quantitative	New public service	Survey	274 municipalities in U.S. (73% of respondents of communities with 5,000 or fewer residents)	Ordinary Least Squares; Correlations	≤ 5,000 inhabitants
30	2007	Tan, Q. and Qiushui, X.	Journal of Contemporary China	Empirical Quantitative	Studies on public elections	Survey	1,299 residents and 204 micro-municipality cadres in China	Descriptive statistics	≤ 5,000 inhabitants

Note(s): *Research question/goal/aim of the article is not included for space reasons

Source(s): Authors’ own elaboration

Table A3

Articles distribution by Journal

Journal	Articles	%
Cities	4	13%
Public Performance and Management Review	3	10%
American Review of Public Administration	2	7%
International Journal of Business, Economics and Law	2	7%
Sustainability	2	7%
Others	17	57%
Total	30	100%

Source(s): Authors’ own elaboration

Table A4

Adopted theories in sample articles

Theory	No.	%
Good Governance	4	13%
Stakeholder Theory	3	9%
Collaborative Governance	2	6%
Legal Studies	2	6%
Institutional Theory	2	6%
Public Leadership	2	6%
Adaptive Resilience Theory	1	3%
Cumulative Causation	1	3%
Hofstede Cultural Theory	1	3%
Inclusive Governance	1	3%
Legitimacy Theory	1	3%
Local Government Studies	1	3%
New Institutional Economic Theory	1	3%
New Public Service	1	3%
Proactive Transparency	1	3%
Public Administration Studies	1	3%
Public Service Motivation Theory	1	3%
Studies on Public Elections	1	3%
Studies on Public Network	1	3%
Theory of Local Public Talk	1	3%
Whistleblowing Studies	1	3%
Not specified	2	6%
Total	32	100%

Note(s): The number of theories exceeds the number of articles since some articles adopted more than one theoretical lens

Source(s): Authors’ own elaboration

Table A7

Trajectories in micro-municipality administration research

Research area	Research trajectories
Micro-municipality definition	• Explore criteria beyond population size, considering geography, economy, social aspects, and cultural dimensions to develop a flexible definition that adapts to population, economy, and infrastructure changes
Impacts of Society on Micro-municipality Administration	• Encourage a more comparative approach, looking at disclosure of the same information in different micro-municipalities or examining transparency within a single micro-municipality across multiple sets of information • Examine how social structures, cultural norms and broader economic policies at regional or national levels influence the economic landscape of micro-municipalities and, subsequently, impact local administration and decision-making processes
Impact of Stakeholders on Micro-municipality Administration	• Investigate the role of business stakeholders in shaping economic development policies within micro-municipalities. Analyse how business interests align with or diverge from micro-municipalities administrative goals • Investigate how stakeholders, such as land developers or investors, influence the growth and urbanisation of micro-municipalities. Examine the impacts on administrative structures, land-use planning, and community services
Impact of Residents on Micro-municipality Administration	• Investigate how active community engagement influences decision-making processes within micro-municipalities administration. Assess the impact of resident participation on the formulation and implementation of policies
Impact of Administrators on Micro-municipality Administration and Stakeholders	• Explore the relationship between leadership styles of micro-municipalities administrators and the efficiency and effectiveness of local administrative processes • Assess the impact of capacity-building programs on enhancing the skills and capabilities of micro-municipalities administrators, influencing their decision-making and problem-solving abilities
Impact of Micro-municipality Administration on Stakeholders	• Explore the effectiveness of participatory decision-making processes in micro-municipalities administration and how it influences stakeholders' satisfaction and cooperation • Assess the implications of sustainability policies implemented by micro-municipalities’ administration on stakeholders, considering economic, social, and ecological aspects
Impact of Micro-municipality Administration on Residents	• Investigate how micro-municipalities’ administrative policies and practices affect the delivery of essential services to residents. Assess the correlation between administrative efficiency and residents' quality of life • Assess the impact of administrative decisions on housing policies and urban planning within micro-municipalities. Examine how these decisions affect residents' living conditions and housing affordability
Impact of Society on Residents	• Examine the role of societal norms and cultural practices in shaping social structures within micro-municipalities, considering their impact on individual and community behaviour • Understand the role of cultural values in fostering trust and cooperation among residents could provide deeper insights into the mechanisms that support or hinder
Impact of Micro-municipality Administrators on Society	• Investigate the role of micro-municipalities administrators in facilitating community development initiatives and social welfare programs that contribute to the overall wellbeing of society • Analyse the strategies used by local administrators to mobilise resources and engage stakeholders in these initiatives
Impact of Micro-municipality Administrators on Residents	• Examine the effectiveness of communication strategies employed by micro-municipalities administrators in informing and engaging residents in local governance • Investigate the role of micro-municipalities administrators in promoting social cohesion and community involvement, exploring best practices for fostering resident participation
Methodology	• Collect data from multiple case studies and multiple observation points and analyse cross-lagged effects of micro-municipalities administration performance • Consider the adoption of longitudinal approaches to micro-municipalities studies. Explore how epistemological considerations may evolve over time, tracking changes in administration, resident perspectives, and the broader socio-political context • Encourage the adoption of methodological pluralism in micro-municipalities studies. Investigate how combining qualitative methods, such as case studies, with other approaches, like participatory action research or ethnography, can provide a more comprehensive understanding of micro-municipalities administration

Source(s): Authors’ own elaboration

Figure A2

Chronological distribution of articles in the sample

Figure A3

Criteria for micro-municipality definition

Table A5

Adopted data collection and analysis techniques in sample articles

Data collection	Articles	%	Data analysis	Articles	%
Secondary Data	14	27%	Descriptive Approach	10	29%
Interviews	12	24%	Content Analysis	3	9%
Survey	11	22%	Logit Regression	3	9%
Archival Data	5	10%	Regression Analysis	3	9%
Observation	4	8%	Descriptive Statistics	2	6%
Focus Groups	1	2%	Ordinary Least Squares (OLS)	2	6%
Participant Observation	1	2%	Thematic Analysis	2	6%
Ethnographic Research	1	2%	Chi Square Test	1	3%
Delphi	1	2%	Correlations	1	3%
Non-participatory Observation	1	2%	Factor Analysis	1	3%
			Historical Socio-spatial Analysis	1	3%
			Multiple Hierarchical Regression Analysis	1	3%
			Nonparametric Binomial Test	1	3%
			Observation	1	3%
			Partial Least Square	1	3%
			Probit model	1	3%
			Structural Equation Model	1	3%
Total	51	100%	Total	35	100%

Note(s): The number of data collection and data analysis methods exceeds the number of articles since some articles adopted more than one data collection and data analysis method

Source(s): Authors’ own elaboration

Table A6

Public administration practices explored in articles sample

Public administration practice	Articles	%
Inter-administration relationships	8	27%
Financial management	3	10%
Public service commitment	3	10%
Transparency	5	16%
Urban regeneration	11	37%
Total	30	100%

Source(s): Authors’ own elaboration