Organizações & Sociedade Journal

2022, 29(101), 277-296

© Authors 2022
DOI 10.1590/1984-92302022v29n0012EN
ISSN 1984-9230
[Link]
Epistemological NPGA, School of Management
Federal University of Bahia
Possibilities of Public
Associate Editor:
Administration Theories: Wescley Silva Xavier
Received: 04/12/2021
from Paradigms to Accepted: 12/09/2021

Epistemic Matrices

Patrícia Araújo Silvaa

Ana Cristina Batista dos Santosa

a State University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil

Abstract
This study aims to contribute to the literature on public administration by conducting
epistemological research on the main trends in the field, updating them with the Circle of
Epistemic Matrices proposed by Paes de Paula (2016). For this, (a) it starts from the essay written
by Andion (2012), which carried out a critical study on the trajectory of the field of public
administration in Brazil and the different theoretical lines that compose it, based on the paradigms
model built by Burrell and Morgan (1979); and (b) it analyzes the main lines that compose the field
of public administration, called State-centric, Pluralist, New Public Administration, New Public
Service, and Digital Era Governance, in light of the Circle of Epistemic Matrices proposed by Paes
de Paula. As results, it confirms that functionalist sociological approaches have a strong influence
on the field of public administration. Greater dialogue is suggested between the lines that
compose the field and the development of new matrix propositions – giving special attention to
the digital transformation driven by Digital Era Governance and by the new coronavirus (SARS-
CoV-2) health crisis – taking into account that the instrumental rational logic is insufficient to
explain the phenomena of the reality, even if it is needed for streamlining public goods and
interests. Finally, reflections are presented along with an agenda for future research.
Keywords: public administration; paradigms; epistemic matrices.
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 278

Introduction
Public administration emerged in the international context as a field of study at the start of
the 20th century, with growing interest from researchers after the Second World War, in the
attempt to elaborate a unified discipline (Raadschelders, 1999). Despite the unification efforts,
there remain criticisms and methodological opportunities to scientifically reinforce this field of
study.
As a discipline, public administration can be defined as interdisciplinary in capturing
tensions between an instrumental rational orientation, objectifying effectiveness and efficiency,
on one hand, and a political orientation, interested in questions of values and in promoting the
public interest, on the other. However, since its origins, it can be affirmed that, besides the
prevalence of a view of separation of these two orientations, an instrumental rational orientation
has been favored (Andion, 2012).
Despite academic efforts toward an epistemological elaboration of public administration
(Abreu, Helou, & Fialho, 2013; Andion, 2012; Keinert, 1994, 2000), there is a perceived
predominance of the use of the sociological paradigms proposed by Burrell and Morgan (1979),
with appropriations of the Kuhnian explanatory logic (Kuhn, 1997), this being the object of
numerous debates and controversies in the field (Paes de Paula, 2015, 2016).
In this sense, this study seeks to contribute to the literature in the area by conducting
epistemological research on the trends in public administration, updating them with
developments from the Circle of Epistemic Matrices proposed by Paes de Paula (2015, 2016),
which concatenates types of philosophy and logic, as well as the cognitive interests of
Habermasian inscription. It also aims to update the field with new implications derived from the
Brazilian federal sphere for the area.
Besides this introduction, in the second section the paper covers the methodological
procedures, followed in the third section by the paradigmatic analysis of the trends in public
administration. In the fourth part, it analyzes the lines of public administration in light of the
epistemic matrices. The concluding remarks are presented in the fifth and final section.

Methodological procedures
This study presents its theoretical framework based on a systematic literature review
(Mendes-da-Silva, 2019) by carrying out a meticulous search for articles in the area of public
administration and its epistemological lines in journals ranked above A4 by Qualis Periódicos of the
Plataform Sucupira, as well as a search in Google Scholar. The terms searched for in Portuguese
and English were patrimonialism, bureaucracy, reforms, public administration, societal public
administration, and Brazilian public administration, resulting in thirteen articles (Table 1).
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 279

Table 1
Academic articles selected

Title Authors Journal Ranking

New public management is dead – long live Dunleavy, Margetts, Journal of Public A1
digital-era governance Bastow, and Tinkler Administration Research and
(2005) Theory

A coherent framework for the study of public Raadschelders Journal of Public A1

administration (1999) Administration Research and
Theory
Maybe it is time to rediscover technocracy? an old Esmark (2016) Journal of Public A1
framework for a new analysis of administrative Administration Research and
reforms in the governance era Theory
Abreu, Helou, and
Epistemological possibilities for widening Public Fialho (2013) Cadernos [Link] A2
Administration Theory: an analysis based on the
concept of New Public Service
Recent trajectory of Brazilian public management: Abrucio (2007) Revista de Administração A2
a critical balance and renewing the reform agenda Pública
For a new interpretation of the paradigm shifts in Andion (2012) Cadernos [Link] A2
public administration
The paradigms of public administration in Brazil Keinert (1994) Revista de Administração A2
(1900-1992) Pública
Brazil: 200 years of State; 200 years of public Costa (2008) Revista de Administração A2
administration; 200 years of reforms Pública
Democracy, social state, and management reform Bresser-Pereira Revista de Administração de A2
(2010) Empresas
Brazilian public administration between Paes de Paula (2005) Revista de Administração de A2
managerialism and social management Empresas
Beyond the paradigms in the organizational Paes de Paula (2016) Cadernos [Link] A2
studies: the circle of epistemic matrices
Administrative reforms in Brazil: a theoretical and Capobiango, Revista de Gestão A3
critical approach Nascimento, Silva,
and Faroni (2013)
A managerial reform of public administration in Bresser-Pereira Revista do Serviço Público A4
Brazil (1998)
Source: Elaborated by the authors.

The literature chosen was then analyzed using the [Link] software, version 7.5.7, and
categorized based on the Analysis of Sense Nuclei, a technique proposed by Mendes (2007),
adapted from thematic context analysis. The operationalization flow of the article analysis can be
visualized in Figure 1.
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 280

Identification Clustering of
Preliiminary Selective Naming of
of the sense the convergent
reading reading the themes
nuclei sense nuclei

Figure 1. Article analysis flow

Source: Elaborated by the authors.

Eight themes were derived from the categorization process, which were subjected to
representativeness and internal consistency tests, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2
Representativeness and internal consistency test

Themes Representativeness Internal

consistency
Public administration (science) / public administration (administrative 12/13 46
structure)
Public administration dysfunctions 10/13 42
Public administration trends 9/13 90
Reform failures 9/13 53
International administrative reforms 9/13 58
Brazilian administrative reforms 8/13 74
Techno-flexibility 7/13 50
Historical-economic-political context of reform 7/13 38
Source: Elaborated by the authors.

The representativeness test indicates the distribution of themes in the group of articles
analyzed. In this study, it was identified that twelve of the thirteen articles addressed the theme of
public administration (science)/public administration (administrative structure), followed by 10/13
for public administration dysfunctions, 9/13 for administration trends, 9/13 for reform failures,
9/13 for international administrative reforms, 8/13 for the theme of Brazilian administrative
reforms, 7/13 for techno-flexibility, and 7/13 for the historical-economic-political context of
reform.
The internal consistency test, in turn, indicates how many context units compose the
theme in the articles, giving it strength. The public administration trends theme emerged with the
greatest strength, as it has the biggest portion of context units (90), followed by Brazilian
administrative reforms (74), international administrative reforms (58), reform failures (53),
techno-flexibility (50), public administration (science)/public administration (administrative
structure), public administration dysfunctions (42), and historical-economic-political context of
reform (38). The next stage was to write the epistemological study proposed.
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 281

Paradigmatic analysis of the public administration trends

Among the various possibilities for public administration models systematized in the
literature, this paper adopts the one proposed by Andion (2012), which converses with papers of
Keinert (1994, 2000). The author developed a periodization of public administration in Brazil,
correlating the epistemological paradigms proposed by Burrell and Morgan (1979) with the main
lines – State-centric, Pluralist, New Public Administration (NPA), and New Public Service (NPS) – of
public administration, according to Table 3.

Table 3
Paradigms, lines, and theories in the field of studies on Brazilian public administration

Radical Change in Sociology

RADICAL HUMANISM RADICAL STRUCTURALISM

Emphasis on the mobilization of civil Emphasis on the relationships between

society and on its actions as a subject of State and social classes. State as a space of
social change. conflict between the social classes.
PLURALIST LINE PLURALIST LINE (MARXIST AND
(CRITICAL AND HUMANIST NEOMARXIST STUDIES)
STUDIES) – Social movement theories
– New social movement theories – Capitalist state theories
– Participative democracy theories
– Critical theories in public
Subjectivity

administration

Objectivity
INTERPRETATIVISM FUNCTIONALISM

Emphasis on understanding the Emphasis on the conception of universal

reality of public administration, considering the laws that enable us to explain the functioning of
subjectivity of politics (importance of values). the public administration and the behavior of
NEW PUBLIC SERVICE LINE political actors, with a view to promoting order and
– Theories of the coproduction of balance (regularity).
public services STATE-CENTRIC LINE
–Theories of community and civil – Scientific administration theory
society participation – Bureaucracy theory
– Critical, humanist, and discourse – Behavioral theories
theories – Systems theories
– New theories of development
(territorial and sustainable) NEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION LINE
– Public choice theory
– Agency theory
– Neoinstitutionalism of rational choices
– Economic neoinstitutionalism
– Managerialism and neomanagerialism
– Good governance theory

Sociology of Regulation
Source: Andion, C. (2012). For a new interpretation of the paradigm shifts in public administration. Cadernos
[Link], l0(1), 1-19.

From analyzing Table 3, we can verify the grounding in the model proposed by Burrell and
Morgan (1979), which is based on the Kuhnian logic and ideas (Kuhn, 1997) and relies on four
dimensions: sociology of radical change and sociology of regulation, which are traversed by the
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 282

relationship between objectivity and subjectivity, resulting in a diagram with four paradigms,
namely functionalism, interpretivism, radical structuralism, and radical humanism. Due to their
theoretical convergence, the lines of public administration are included in the paradigms. It is
perceived that the State-centric and NPA lines are connected with the functionalist paradigm. In
turn, the Pluralist line is connected with radical structuralism and radical humanism, and the NPS
line with the interpretivist paradigm.
The State-centric line is the most influential in the field of public administration in Brazil
and is correlated with the functionalist paradigm of Burrell and Morgan (1979), characterized by
the alignment with sociology of regulation and objectivity of science. It corresponds to the period
covering the end of the 19th century to the 1980s, dividing into three moments. The first period
starts before the emergence of the discipline in the country and extends to the end of the 1920s,
including the Old Republic (1889-1930), in which the questions regarding the area were primarily
linked to judicial sciences, such as Administrative Law (Abreu et al., 2013; Andion, 2012). At the
economic level, the national political regime was characterized by a Liberal State during the 19 th
century, with transition to the Developmentalist State in the 20 th century after the Second World
War (Bresser-Pereira, 2010).
The second period covers the years from 1930 to 1950, a time that saw the emergence of
the public administration discipline in Brazil (Andion, 2012). Historically, it covers the
establishment of the New State, in the Getúlio Vargas government (1937-1945), and the creation
of the Administrative Department of Public Service (DASP), in 1936. This was the main agent of its
diffusion and considered a milestone for the first public administration reform in the country – the
bureaucratic reform (Bresser-Pereira, 1996), which was translated as a systematic effort to
overcome patrimonialism (Costa, 2008). The formal objective of that period was to structure a
meritocratic and professionalized public administration. There was notable influence from Taylor’s
scientific administration and Weber’s bureaucracy theory, also known as progressive public
administration, in which there was an initial induction of marketing techniques for the public
context. There was also the influence of the North American literature on the academic field
(Andion, 2012; Secchi, 2009).
At a third moment, from the 1950s to the start of the 1980s, the public administration
discipline was consolidated in the country, internationalizing with the widening of cooperation,
especially with the United States. The Brazilian School of Public Administration (EBAP) was created
in 1952, under the guidance of the United Nations Organization (UN). The State expanded as a
promotor of national development, assuming a developmentalist political regime, especially
during Juscelino Kubitscheck’s government (1956-1961), with four key sectors standing out:
energy, transport, heavy industry, and food (Bresser-Pereira, 2010; Costa, 2008), with a technicist
bias. It also covers the start of the military dictatorship in the country (1964-1985), with the State
taking on an authoritarian nature. In the academic field, two main views are perceived, one
pragmatic and experimental, and the other based on humanist and critical studies (Andion, 2012).
In turn, the Pluralist line predominated in the 1980s, covering the redemocratization period
– peaking in 1985. It is correlated with the radical structuralism and radical humanism paradigm
and perceives public administration as a political science, given the renewed interest in the
dialogue between both fields. Studies went on to be concerned with the participation of social
actors in defining political agendas and in expanding social control (Andion, 2012). Within the
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 283

scope of the redemocratization period, Abrucio (2007) highlights that it was necessary to limit the
historical errors of the Brazilian public administration, many derived from the military regime, and
propose solutions that took account of the new historical movement, which required a renewal of
public management. In alignment with that moment, Paes de Paula (2005) indicates Brazilian
mobilizing movements with an interest in shedding light on the importance of civil society in
politics, with an emphasis on the critical view of the context of Brazilian public administration,
making it more flexible for popular participation.
A strong influence can be verified of the Pluralist line on the building of the 1988 Federal
Constitution, given the participation of society in the design, implementation, and social control of
public policies. Initially, regarding the elaboration, Rocha indicates that through “popular
amendments, society was able to actively participate in the process of elaborating the current
Magna Carta, presenting proposals for the constitutional text... and guaranteeing mechanisms for
participation in the federal and local decision-making process” (2008, p. 135). With reference to
the direct participation of society, social control is expressed through the possibility of proposing
laws, as well as the sovereignty ensured by popular initiative, plebiscite, and referendum.
In contrast to the nationalist movement, in the international context, starting in the 1970s,
there began a radical liberal ideological wave – neoliberalism. The Social State, in developed
countries, and the Developmentalist State, in underdeveloped and developing countries, such as
Brazil, perceived pressures from neoliberalism to promote the reduction of the state apparatus
and its social functions, with the aim of returning to the Liberal State of the 19 th century (Bresser-
Pereira, 2010). This neoliberal offensive reproduced the classic class conflict, with the capitalist or
bourgeois class on one side, and the professional or techno-bureaucratic class on the other. In the
midst of that wave, in Great Britain in the 1980s there emerged the Managerial Reform of the
State, also called the Public Management Reform – the second major reform of the modern State
apparatus (Bresser-Pereira, 2010).
It was at that moment that New Public Administration (NPA) emerged, understood as the
science of management, born in Great Britain around 1980 (Bresser-Pereira, 2010; Capobiango,
Nascimento, Silva, & Faroni, 2013; Esmark, 2016), disseminated by Osborne and Gaebler (1992)
and correlated with the functionalist paradigm. It presents three main themes: incentive system,
disaggregation, and competition (Dunleavy, Margetts, Bastow, & Tinkler, 2005). This movement is
characterized by a normative model formed of theoretical approaches that complement each
other, which enables, based on principles derived from the market, a new view of the public
sphere and its workings (Abreu et al., 2013). In NPA, reforms aim to restructure the State by
substituting the bureaucratic model with a management model based on competition and with a
focus on results (Andion, 2012). Bresser-Pereira was an exponent of that trend in public
administration in Brazil during the period in which he was Minister of Federal Administration and
Reform of the State (MARE), in Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s (1992-1999) government. He
proposed the Social-Liberal Democratic State, which would remain responsible for protecting
social rights, however it gradually ceased to directly carry out the functions of education, health,
and social assistance, publicizing them to non-state public organizations (Bresser-Pereira, 1998,
2002). In this line, the public service user is characterized as a client, similarly to the market.
These organizations, despite being characterized as non-state, would participate in state
budgetary forecasts (Bresser-Pereira, 1998, 2002, 2017). For Bresser-Pereira (2017), the
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 284

publicization of public services non-exclusive to the state is an answer for greater efficiency and
the reduction of costs of social services provided, neutralizing, above all, intense efforts and
criticisms of the highest classes in society with regard to reducing the tax bill. Thus, the managerial
reform of the state based on the NPA line is a form of legitimization of the social state.
The New Public Service (NPS) proposal, in turn, emerged as a counterpoint to the State-
centric and NPS lines. It is correlated with the interpretivist paradigm of Burrell and Morgan
(1979), with a subjective nature of the science and social reality based on regulation. In Brazil, the
NPS line is recent and primarily occurred after the 1995 (Andion, 2012). It comprises a new
management model based on democratic and citizenship theories; community and civil society
models; as well as organizational humanism and discourse theory (Andion, 2012). In addition, with
origins in the Brazilian mobilizing tradition starting in the 1960s and peaking in the 1980s, there
emerged the notion of Societal Public Administration (SPA) (Paes de Paula, 2005). This line
proposes a new public management model, opposing the bureaucratic style of management and
seeking to expand democracy through greater inclusion and participation of organized society in
public administration (Capobiango et al., 2013). In this line, the citizen is seen as a partner of the
State, deciding his/her destiny as a person, voter, and worker (Paes de Paula, 2005).
Contemporaneously, after Lula’s neodevelopmentalist government (2003-2011) (Erber,
2011), which faced heavy criticism in relation to the pension crisis, the high tax burden, and
assistentialism (Fonseca, Cunha, & Bichara, 2013) and that of Dilma (2011-2016) – who suffered a
controversial impeachment – a new wave of neoliberalism is verified at the national economic-
political level, starting in Michel Temer’s government (2016-2019), with the establishment of the
labor reform through Law n. 13,467 (2017), which deeply altered work relations since the
enactment of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) in 1943 (Carvalho, 2017), establishing flexible
working hours and remuneration.
With the inauguration of Bolsonaro (2019-2022) to the office of head of the Federal
Executive power, there has been an alignment of liberal policies with a view to destatization,
pension reform – with the enactment of Constitutional Amendment n. 103 (2019) – and reform of
the public administration. Recently, with effect, the government has been rocked by the pandemic
resulting from the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), requiring emergency measures to avoid misery
among the population and maintain the economy at minimally viable levels. Thus, the liberal
alignment of the Government has clashed with income transfer policies through necessary state
intervention. Despite the political-economic-social shock occurring with the health crisis, in this
period alignment with the functionalist objectives of NPA is verified, added to the continuous
intention to debureaucratize the state through the Secretary of State for Administration and
Debureaucratization, linked to the Ministry of the Economy.
In the international context, Dunleavy et al. (2005) propose Digital Era Governance (DEG),
in which the public administration puts aside self-centralization of structure and places citizens at
the center of its activities. The authors argue that advances in the use of information and
communication technologies (ICT) have brought deep cultural, cognitive, behavioral, and political
changes in society – which intervene and require new forms of administrative service provision.
Strongly linked to ICT, the DEG proposal brings the perspective of coproduction of the government
with society and reintegration of public agencies, firmly opposing the decentralization proposed
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 285

by NPA. The authors argue that the key elements of DEG are reintegration, a holistic view of
administration based on the needs of society (need-based holism), and digitization changes.
On the first point – reintegration – it is argued that the decentralization sustained by NPA
brought difficulties for users of the public service and for other civil society actors, since they were
given the burden of integrating public services in useable packages. Regarding the second point –
needs-based holism – it is advocated that the public administration should rethink its processes
point to point, with the aim of seeking agility in the provision of services to users, eliminating
unnecessary stages, verifications, forms, and compliance costs. Finally, the third point –
digitalization changes – refers to the use of the internet and means of communication by
governments. Instead of complementing administrative processes, online channels play a genuine
role of transformation, toward totally digital processes, giving rise to electronic systems and new
forms of automatization of service provision through zero touch technologies (ZTT), that is,
without the need for human intervention (Dunleavy et al., 2005).
In the national context, there is a verified scarcity of articles that directly cover DEG. In
spite of that, Cepik, Canabarro, and Possamai (2014) discuss the theme and indicate that the true
and complete DEG transformation will only be achieved if the points of popular participation
defended by SPA are considered. In addition, the interest for a government and ICT intersection
can be verified in various authors (Gomes, Moreira, & Silva Filho, 2020; Guimarães & Medeiros,
2005). Yet, it is perceived that the studies are fragmented and revolve around DEG (e.g. electronic
government, e-gov, e-government, electronic governance, digital governance, and digital
government). These authors indicate ICT as key elements for overcoming the limitations of NPA
and SPA (Cepik et al., 2014) and, through measuring the level of digital governance in 108
education autarkies and foundations in Brazil, only 54.67% provision of means for popular
participation was verified (Gomes et al., 2020), confirming the continuity of the low influence of
civil society on decisions that establish the government agenda over the internet (Guimarães &
Medeiros, 2005).
Regarding the practical field of DEG, the institutionalization of government purchases can
be identified in the public tender modality, Law n. 10,520 (2002), an improvement of Public
Tenders Law n. 8,666 (1993); the wavering of signature recognition and the establishment of the
Debureaucratization and Simplification Seal, through Law n. 13,726 (2018), which encourages the
streamlining of administrative processes and procedures, the elimination of unnecessary
formalities, social gains derived from the debureaucratization measure, a reduction in waiting time
for public service provision, and the adoption of technological or organizational solutions. More
recently, Decree n. 10,322 (2020) was published, substituting Decree n. 8,638 (2016), establishing
the Digital Government strategy for the period from 2020 to 2022, within the scope of the federal
public administration, which was organized in eighteen objectives, including: the provision of
digital public services; unique digital access; integrated public services; the citizen’s participation in
the elaboration of public policies; and digital as a source of resources for essential public policies.
It can also be affirmed that the pandemic context may have accelerated the digitization changes,
since a large portion of the services has been provided with the support of ICT – online meetings,
remote attendance, digital signatures – also stimulating networking.
Regarding the weaknesses of DEG, Dunleavy et al. (2005) mention the storage of personal
data without adequate privacy rights, especially when linked to biometric and genetic information.
 Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 286

In addition, presenting a counterpoint to a Dunleavy et al., (2005), Esmark (2016) argues that DEG
is infamously linked to the death of NPA. For the author, it involves a transition toward the post-
NPA, widening the concern with the creation of networks, instead of quasi markets.
A summary of the main public administration trends, as well as their updating with DEG,
can be visualized in Figure 2, which relates the lines of Brazilian public administration with the
variable influence (y axis) versus time (x axis). It should be noted that the influence of a particular
line can fluctuate over time. It also warrants mentioning that the constant arrangement on the
timeline in this paper recognizes the amalgam present in the public administration trends, which
implies the recognition that the arrangement brings to the debate the most prominent and
influential characteristics at a particular political-historical moment of the Brazilian public
administration, not reducing to the idealized linear analysis with pure characteristics.
.

Influence

New Public
DASP Administration
1936
State-centric FC/88
NPA New Public
Trial MARE Service
Pluralist (NPS
embryo)
DL n° 200/67
Digital-Era
Governance
1st period 2nd period 3rd period Law
10520/0
2 Time
Aprox. XIX – 1930 – 1950 1951 – 1980 1981 – 1985 1986 – 1995 1996 – 2005 2006 – Present
1929
Atualmente Atualmente
DL – Decree Law; FC – Federal Constitution

Figure 2. Timeline of the public administration trends in Brazil

Source: Elaborated by the authors.

Figure 2, therefore, enables a summary of the discussion developed up to here, by finding

the growing influence of the State-centric line in its first two periods, with it weakening in the
third, represented by the Management Reform trial derived from Decree Law n. 200 (1967). In
1980, the development of the Pluralist line occurred – an embryo of NSP – influencing the
elaboration of the 1988 Federal Constitution – a milestone in of the Counter-Reformation of the
State – which aimed to conclude the bureaucratic reform. It was then in 1995 that the managerial
reform was developed, aligning with NPA. But it was after the technological revolution of the
2000s, reinforced by widespread access to social media by society and by the use of ICT in
administration, that DEG has given new directions to the timeline and to public activities. Thus, the
coexistence of amalgamated patrimonialist, bureaucratic, managerialist, and governance practices
is verified on the timeline.
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 287

The dominant lines of public administration face some criticisms. Raadschelders (1999)
affirms that the discipline faces theoretical and methodological weaknesses, given the controversy
regarding its epistemological status, the breathless search for trends in the study and practice, the
emphasis on practice at the cost of academia, the lack of responsiveness to the needs of the actors
in practice, the need for new bases in governance, constitutionalism, and in the pragmatic
philosophy.
Epistemologically, by analyzing the administration trends in Brazil, Guerreiro-Ramos (1989)
already highlighted that the functionalist paradigm is predominant and stimulates an objectivist
view in the field, with little space for the historicity, conflict, and subjectivity of political actors.
Citizens are interpreted in most cases as organizational men, whose role is to adapt to the rules of
the system, or as economic men who seek to maximize their gains.
Abreu et al. (2013), in turn, argue that NPS emerges as a criticism of the dominant theory
of public administration, considered a rational administration model that has at least three
important limitations: (a) it is based on a narrow and restrictive view of human reason; (b) it is
supported by an incomplete understanding of knowledge acquisition; and (c) it prevents an
adequate connection between theory and practice. The authors affirm that a phenomenological
approach would enable us to reach the essence of the phenomena, through a fuller and more
complex view of society. They also affirm that criteria such as equity and justice are more
appropriate for the development of public administration.

Analysis of the lines of public administration in light of the epistemic

matrices
The paradigmatic debate has been given new meaning by Paes de Paula (2016) by
proposing the Circle of Epistemic Matrices with the aim of sustaining the new line of thinking of
organizational studies and overcoming the proposition of Burrell and Morgan (1979). The author
proposes a circle divided into three equal parts, guided by the cognitive interests discussed by
Jürgen Habermas, containing the matrix that is “empirical-analytical (technical interest), the
hermeneutic matrix (practical interest), and the critical matrix (emancipatory interest)” (Paes de
Paula, 2016, p. 25), as according to Figure 3.
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 288

Sociological
Approaches
Empirical- Hermeneutic
Analytical Matrix Matrix

Positive Philosophy Hermeneutic Philosphy

Formal Logic Interpretative Logic
Technical Interest Public Interest

Critical Matrix

Negative Philosophy
Dialectic Logic Theories and
Emancipatory Interest Methodologies

Figure 3. Circle of epistemic matrices, sociological approaches, theories, and

methodologies
Source: Paes de Paula, A. P. (2016). Beyond the paradigms in Organizational Studies: the Circle of Epistemic
Matrices. Cadernos [Link], 14(1), 24-46.

The author affirms that the knowledge in social sciences and in organizational studies,
unlike natural sciences, is not developed due to paradigmatic rivalries, incommensurabilities, and
scientific revolutions, as proposed in the Kuhnian logic (Kuhn, 1997) and operationalized by Burrell
and Morgan (1979); but because “in the investigation of social phenomena, cognitive
incompletenesses occur that lead the researchers to seek other theories, methodologies,
sociological approaches, or even other epistemic matrices” (Paes de Paula, 2016, p. 38).
The theses of cognitive incompleteness and of epistemic reconstructions are used as a
basis for explaining the dynamic of the sociological approaches present in the Circle of Matrices.
Paes de Paula (2016) affirms that, in the construction of a sociological approach, there may be
knowledge gaps of its founders in the articulation of its elements. So, to retrieve them, due to the
cognitive incompletenesses, researchers need to perform an excavation job to find them and
recombine them. Thus, new methodologies and theories are created or improved, with embryonic
and advanced epistemic reconstructions being carried out.
Therefore, instead of paradigms, epistemic matrices are proposed; instead of
incommensurabilities, cognitive incompletenesses occur; and the scientific revolutions are
substituted by epistemic reconstructions. The author discusses the proposition of the circle:

The Circle of Epistemic Matrices proposition is consistent with organic thinking, which
enables movement in the construction in knowledge, reinforcing the idea of flexibility
and adding, in a natural way, the unlimited potential of human knowledge in a totality.
This is based on epistemic elements that concatenate the types of philosophy and logic,
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 289

as well as the Habermasian cognitive interests, which constitute the three matrices.
(Paes de Paula, 2016, p. 36)

The Circle of Epistemic Matrices is formed of three matrices: empirical-analytical,

hermeneutic, and critical. The empirical-analytical matrix is characterized by three elements:
alignment with positive philosophy, the use of formal logic, and a preference for the technical
interest. In turn, the hermeneutic matrix is characterized by alignment with hermeneutic
philosophy, by the use of interpretative logic, and by a preference for the practical interest. The
critical matrix, in turn, is characterized by alignment with negative philosophy, by the use of the
dialectic logic, and by a preference for the emancipatory interest (Paes de Paula, 2015, 2016).
For Paes de Paula (2015, 2016), some sociological approaches are pure, as they identify
with a single epistemic matrix and tend to remain stationary. This is the case of the functionalist,
interpretivist, and humanist approaches. However, some sociological approaches are hybrid, since
they connect elements from more than one epistemic matrix and contemplate more than one
cognitive interest, being generated based on advanced epistemic reconstructions: this is the case
of the structuralist (empirical-analytical matrix and hermeneutic matrix), the post-structuralist
(hermeneutic matrix and critical matrix), and the critical realist (empirical-analytical matrix,
hermeneutic matrix, and critical matrix) approaches.
It is important to highlight that for the author there is interdependence between the
epistemic matrices, so that the full understanding of what is real is possible through the analysis of
its whole. It is up to the researcher, however, to assume their cognitive limitation in the scientific
activity, given that:

The emancipatory interest alone becomes critical through the critique, given that it
depends on the practical and technical interest to crystalize in actions; the isolated
public interest tends to transform into pure understanding and description, since it
needs the technical and emancipatory interests to be able to interfere in the reality; and
the technical interest alone is converted into instrumentalism, as it is also necessary to
contemplate the social needs of understanding and emancipation. (Paes de Paula, 2016,
p. 37)

From analyzing the lines of public administration in relation to the Circle of Epistemic
Matrices, it is verified that the State-centric and New Public Administration lines align with the
functionalist approach and are included in the empirical-analytical matrix, given that the formal
objective of the former was to structure a meritocratic and professionalized public administration
and that of the latter was to elaborate a management model based on competition and with a
focus on results (Andion, 2012). Both lines are characterized by pure sociological approaches,
carrying out embryonic epistemic reconstructions by moving to the boundary between the other
epistemic matrices.
The NPS line, in turn, is characterized by an interpretivist approach that circles the
hermeneutic matrix. Paes de Paula (2016) affirms that this approach is pure, despite making a
criticism affirming that not all theories and methodologies generated are capable of reaching
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 290

hermeneutics per se and the practical interest. As is known, this line puts an “emphasis on
understanding the reality of the public administration, considering the subjectivity of politics
(importance of values)” (Andion, 2012, p. 14), demonstrating practical interest.
By orbiting around two sociological approaches, the humanist and the structuralist ones,
the Pluralist line, in turn, is characterized as being an advanced epistemic reconstruction, with
dialogue between the critical epistemic, empirical-analytical, and hermeneutic matrices. With
regard to the (pure) humanist approach, aligning with the critical matrix, there is emphasis on the
mobilization of civil society and in its actions as a subject of social change (Andion, 2012).
Regarding its alignment with the structuralist approach, considered a hybrid sociological approach
by Paes de Paula (2015, 2016), there is emphasis on the relationships between the State and
Society as a space of conflict between the social classes (Abreu et al., 2013; Andion, 2012), which
is encountered orbiting between the empirical-analytical and hermeneutic epistemic matrices.
In turn, DEG is developed in public administration as a way of overcoming the dysfunctions
of NPA (Dunleavy et al., 2005). There is a perceived interest of this line in the provision of efficient
services to society, with support from information and communication technologies and,
simultaneously, the need for users to actively participate in the formulation and monitoring of
public policies together with the government. Thus, this line presents technical and practical
interest, correlating with the functionalist and interpretivist approaches. In the circle of epistemic
matrices, DEG can be found orbiting in the empirical-analytical and hermeneutic matrices,
constituting a hybrid sociological approach.
Figure 4 presents the new picture of the lines of public administration in the circle of
epistemic matrices proposed by Paes de Paula (2015, 2016).

Empirical-Analytical
Matrix
Technical Interest

New Public
State-centric Administration

Digital-Era
Governance
New Public Pluralist
Service

Critical Matrix Hermeneutic Matrix

Emancipatory Practical Interest
Interest

Figure 4. Relationship between epistemic matrices and lines of public administration

Source: Elaborated by the authors.
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 291

The State-centric and New Public Administration lines are included in the empirical-
analytical matrix, while New Public Service is included in the critical matrix, followed by Digital Era
Governance in the empirical-analytical and hermeneutic matrices. Finally, the Pluralist line orbits
in the intersection of the three epistemic matrices.
Paes de Paula (2015, 2016) states that, although contradictory, the technical, practical, and
emancipatory interests should constitute a unit of knowledge, since the social phenomena are
presented according to a set of interests, as there is no way of separating them. Similarly, the lines
of public administration can be pondered, understanding that their coexistences do not imply a
contradiction, since public activity, as a unit of knowledge, requires them to account for what is
real, contemplating various cognitive interests, providing new solutions for social problems.
In the scientific field of public administration, as shown in Figure 2, there is oscillation of
the influence of the State-centric, Pluralist, New Public Administration, New Public Service, and
Digital Era Governance lines over time. These lines coexist as an amalgam. That coexistence shows
the cognitive incompleteness in which the lines of the field find themselves.
Thus, the Kuhnian epistemological logic (Kuhn, 1997), based on paradigmatic
incommensurability, is incapable of explaining the complex coexistence relationships present on
the timeline of administrative trends, giving strategic place to the epistemic matrices, through
cognitive incompletenesses. There are verified efforts for the discontinuity of bureaucratic
practices, while the new public administration is growing. There is also verified growth in popular
participation, through co-creation in the planning of public policies, raising the tendency for DEG
to influence public activities in administration, especially due to the pandemic context and the
need for continuity in the provision of services to society.
Therefore, it is beneficial to consider a dialogue between the trends, with the aim of
encouraging new combinations, as they integrate complementary and interdependent cognitive
interests, recognizing the cognitive incompleteness this field is subject to, in order to enable
eloquent epistemological development of the literature.

Concluding remarks
This paper sought to contribute to the development of the field of public administration by
conducting an epistemological study of the main trends in the field, updating them with the Circle
of Epistemic Matrices proposed by Paes de Paula (2016) and bringing to the debate the situational
political-economic context of the country.
It is confirmed that the functionalist approach has a strong influence on the area, with it
being present in the State-centric and New Public Administration lines. However, more recent
approaches, such as New Public Service (hermeneutic matrix) and Digital Era Governance
(empirical-analytical and hermeneutic matrix) bring to light epistemological and methodological
development opportunities by emphasizing the protagonism of society in defining public policies
together with the State. The Pluralist line, in turn, presents advanced epistemic reconstructions
and can contribute to a dialogue between technical, practical, and emancipatory interests in public
administration.
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 292

In the practical field, there is a demand for a valuation, training, and development program
for public administrators that creates techno-political experts capable of negotiating, researching,
bringing society and interests together, planning, executing, and assessing (Paes de Paula, 2005).
For Abreu et al. (2013), there are structured experiences of coproduction of the public good, for
example cooperatives, social organizations, interorganizational networks, and public-private
partnerships (PPP). However, the practical level of activity can be raised to more (co)productive
levels. In addition, verifying the emergence of DEG with a focus on the coproduction of public
policies and considering that the population is increasingly demanding and aware of its rights and
obligations, it is up to the administration (a) to draw closer to citizens, making them partners of
the State, (b) provide facilitated access to public services through digital means, and (c) take the
needs of the population as a basis for implementing public policies and services.
In the theoretical field, more specifically in relation to DEG, this needs to be developed
methodologically as an emerging trend of public administration in the Brazilian context, aiming to
systematize and dialogue with the constructs that orbit its alignment (e.g. digital governance and
government). Its structural management dimensions – institutional-administrative, sociopolitical,
and economic-financial – also need to be reinforced, given the predominance of the first two
(Cepik et al., 2014), with the aim of developing an organic and robust model. There is also the
incentive for new lines to be designed, in the sense of providing greater dialogue between
epistemic matrices and their interests. The search of the social scientist and scholar of
organizations should be, within their domain of activity, to broaden their knowledge horizons,
carrying out studies that seek to cover the three types of interest, but always aware of their
cognitive incompletenesses and of the limitations imposed by the domain of what is real (Paes de
Paula, 2015, 2016).
With the aim of scientifically reinforcing and building an own identity for the Brazilian
public administration, recognition between the various sociological approaches in the lines of
public administration provides important scientific development possibilities for the discipline. It is
in that space that public administration is presented with the proposal to use the Circle of
Epistemic Matrices, in order to better capture the diffuse interests of the population interested in
the provision of quality public services, taking into consideration that the instrumental rational
logic is insufficient to explain the phenomena of the reality, even if it is needed for the
streamlining of public goods and interests.
Finally, as an agenda for future research, we propose investigating the influence of DEG on
the national and international context of public organizations; studying how society has had an
impact on changes in public service provision with the advent of new ICT; identifying the changes
occurring in public administration in the pandemic context; and understanding which trends are
predominant in the field and how they converse.

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Funding
The authors did not receive any financial support for the research, authorship, or publication of
this article.

Authorship
Patrícia Araújo Silva
Master’s in administration from the State University of Ceará (UECE). Works as an administrator at
the Federal University of Ceará (UFC).
E-mail: [Link]@[Link]
ORCID: [Link]

Ana Cristina Batista dos Santos

PhD in administration from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). Professor and
Organizações & Sociedade, 2022, 29(101) 296

researcher at the State University of Ceará (UECE).

E-mail: [Link]@[Link]
ORCID: [Link]

Conflict of interests
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.

Authors’ contributions
First author: conception (equal), formal analysis (equal), methodology (equal), supervision
(support), writing – original draft (leader), writing – reviewing and editing (leader).
Second author: conception (equal), formal analysis (equal), methodology (equal), supervision
(leader), writing – original draft (support), writing – reviewing and editing (support).

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