A central function of government is to protect citizens from harms of various hazards. Research on governmental emergency preparedness focuses predominantly on emergency management agencies per se but seldom assesses the full range of public sector agencies—nor how public managers specifically shape agency actions. This study addresses these gaps by investigating how perceptions and attitudes of administrators in nonemergency management agencies affect preparedness. Using a survey of U.S. public transit agencies, I demonstrate how managers’ perceived risks and efficacy beliefs shape nonemergency public agencies’ commitment to emergency preparedness. These findings suggest pathways for improved emergency preparedness across public sector agencies overall.

政府的一项核心职能是保护公民免受各种危害的伤害。对政府应急准备的研究主要集中在应急管理机构本身，但很少评估所有公共部门机构——也很少评估公共管理人员如何具体影响机构行动。本研究通过调查非应急管理机构管理人员的看法和态度如何影响准备工作来解决这些差距。通过对美国公共交通机构的调查，我展示了管理者感知的风险和有效性信念如何影响非紧急公共机构对应急准备的承诺。这些调查结果提出了改善公共部门机构整体应急准备的途径。