Zhou Yanling, Yao Siyu ，Journal of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Social Sciences Edition)（CSSCI Expanded）

Abstract: The swift response to public complaints is an important policy measure for enhancing the social governance  pattern of “collaboration, participation, and shared benefits”. However, in the practice of receiving and handling public complaints in mega-city townships, the complexity of the social structure, the diversity of interest demand, and the variety of governance scenarios have led to the frequent occurrence of the strategic behavior. By constructing a “structure-process” analytical framework in the field of mega-city townships, this study analyzes the operational logic of structural coupling, process adjustment, and inter-construction and interdependence in the context of swift responses to public complaints. Based on a case study of Town Z in Beijing, it explores three underlying motivations behind the strategy behavior of swift response to public complaints, inlcuding “rationalization of demands + negative evaluation” strategy behavior of the claimant, “risk avoidance + informal and simplified governance” strategy behavior of the township government, and the “flexible consultation + passive execution” strategy behavior of the village committee. Finally, this paper proposes optimizing the configuration of structural elements, improving process integration and advancing “structure-process” coordinated governance. These measures aim to mitigate the dilemmas arising from the double-edged effects of multi-agent strategic behaviors in swift complaint responses. This paper provides theoretical support for the resolution of practical issues in China’s primary-level governance.

Key words: swift responses to public complaints; “structure-process” analysis; mega-city; China’s primary-level governance; double-edged effect