Quality of Governance at the Communal Level in Poland: an Exploratory Study of the Worst Performer Case From the Opolskie Province

Abstract

The objective of this paper is an attempt to explain the determinants of the lowest governance quality level in one of the communes of the Opolskie Province, Poland. The first stage of the research consisted in developing a commune-level governance quality index in order to measure the quality of governance in the 60 communes of the Opolskie Province. Subsequently, the commune with the lowest score in the index was qualified for the second stage of the research which was based on the extreme case method. The major conclusion from the research is that the commune leader's governance style which allowed him to hold on to power for many terms of office was responsible for generating low governance quality. Furthermore, the low quality of governance was not only the effect of the governance style but also the strategy aimed at remaining in the commune leader office for many terms.