Nudges and cognitive processes in public administration: a systematic review and research agenda

Abstract

Nudge-type interventions have become central to discussion on innovation in public policy, contributing to the re-evaluation of traditional instruments of governance and public management. However, the potential to applying these interventions across different processes – both internal and external to public administration – has not yet been fully explored. Accordingly, based on a hybrid systematic literature review, this study aimed to identify and synthesize the main research themes, types of nudge interventions, organizational domains, and behavioral foundations associated with the application of nudges in the internal organizational environment of public organizations. The analysis is based on a portfolio of 54 articles selected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases, of which 11 studies explicitly addressing the application of nudges in public organizational contexts comprise the subset subjected to qualitative analysis. The results indicate that, although interest in nudges in public administration is growing, their application within public organizational contexts remains limited, with most studies focusing on citizen behavior. A prevalence of low cognitive-cost interventions – such as defaults, reminders, feedback, and social norms – is observed, primarily concentrated in the domains of organizational performance, decision-making processes, communication, and internal prosocial behavior. Furthermore, the literature reveals gaps in the organizational integration of interventions, in the alignment between cognitive mechanisms and types of nudges, and in the limited generalizability of empirical results. Based on these findings, the study proposes a research agenda structured around three analytical axes and offers directions for future research that further explore the use of nudges as tools to support management, decision-making, and the implementation of public policies.