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Book part
Publication date: 8 October 2018

Stephan Leixnering, Andrea Schikowitz, Gerhard Hammerschmid and Renate E. Meyer

Public sector reforms of recent decades in Europe have promoted managerialism and aimed at introducing private sector thinking and practices. However, with regard to public sector…

Abstract

Public sector reforms of recent decades in Europe have promoted managerialism and aimed at introducing private sector thinking and practices. However, with regard to public sector executives’ self-understanding, managerial role identities have not replaced bureaucratic ones; rather, components from both paradigms were combined. In this chapter, we introduce a bi-dimensional identity approach (attitudes and practices) that allows for different combinations and forms of hybridity. Empirically, we explore the role identities of public sector executives across Europe, building on survey data from over 7,000 top public officials in 19 countries (COCOPS survey). We identify country-level profiles, as well as patterns across countries, and find that administrative traditions can account for these profiles and patterns only to a limited extent. Rather, they have to be complemented by factors such as stability of the institutional environment (indicating lower shares of hybrid combinations) or extent of reform pressures (indicating higher shares of hybrid combinations).

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Book part
Publication date: 8 October 2018

Carsten Greve, Per Lægreid and Lise H. Rykkja

The chapter summarises findings from a study on administrative reforms covering all central government ministries and agencies in 19 countries, examining reform trajectories seen…

Abstract

The chapter summarises findings from a study on administrative reforms covering all central government ministries and agencies in 19 countries, examining reform trajectories seen from the top of the central administrative apparatus. Core structural features of the central bureaucracy are described, along with role perceptions, values and motivation of administrative executives. Reform processes, trends, content and management tools are addressed, leading up to similarities and differences between the Nordic countries and between them and other European families of countries. A main finding is that the Nordic bureaucracy represents a layered, complex and hybrid system combining different reform trends and that there is a clear North–South divide in Europe when it comes to administrative reforms.

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Bureaucracy and Society in Transition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-283-3

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Book part
Publication date: 10 October 2007

Gerhard Hammerschmid, Renate E. Meyer and Christoph Demmke

In this chapter, we present results from an EU-wide survey on public administration reform. Our analysis shows that the 27 public administrations covered still organize their HR…

Abstract

In this chapter, we present results from an EU-wide survey on public administration reform. Our analysis shows that the 27 public administrations covered still organize their HR services very differently. Divergent structures, traditions, and paths taken do not seem to give rise to an overall shared new model of a European Administrative Space, yet. Different national traditions have a considerable impact on the modernization paths and the organization of HR decision-making structures and account for similarities between more related public administrations. The clusters based on the administrative traditions and on the HR systems proved to be helpful in outlining different patterns, but also revealed several directions for refinement.

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Cultural Aspects of Public Management Reform
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1400-3

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Article
Publication date: 1 December 2005

Gerhard Hammerschmid and Renate E. Meyer

Sets out to present current dynamics of public management reform in Austria, a country that is characterized by institutional governance features (federal structure, legalistic…

997

Abstract

Purpose

Sets out to present current dynamics of public management reform in Austria, a country that is characterized by institutional governance features (federal structure, legalistic Rechtsstaat tradition) often described as an obstacle to management‐oriented reforms. The paper's focus lies in the reception of management ideas and concepts by public sector executives within this special national context and in differences between federal and state administration.

Design/methodology/approach

Presents results of a recent questionnaire‐based executive survey (sample size: 385). Apart from non‐parametric correlation analyses, investigates level differences (federal vs state) by using an independent samples Mann‐Whitney U rank sum test.

Findings

Highlights the importance of the national institutional background for understanding public management changes. Finds considerable support for reform initiatives despite some scepticism and resistance towards management knowledge and instruments. Results confirm that executives in a legalistic Rechtsstaat system are not per se opposed to management‐driven reforms. Regarding the reception of public management reforms, at various government levels, differences between federal and state level are less pronounced than expected.

Originality/value

Addresses the lack of empirical research regarding the reception of management ideas in legalistic Rechtsstaat systems by presenting data from a country which has hardly been covered by international public management literature so far. This study also compares the reception at federal and state administration to look for level variations of management reform dynamics.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 18 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

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Available. Content available
Book part
Publication date: 10 October 2007

Abstract

Details

Cultural Aspects of Public Management Reform
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1400-3

Available. Content available
Book part
Publication date: 8 October 2018

Abstract

Details

Bureaucracy and Society in Transition
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-283-3

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Book part
Publication date: 12 January 2021

Renate E. Meyer, Dennis Jancsary and Markus A. Höllerer

We review and discuss theoretical approaches from both within and outside of institutional organization theory with regard to their specific insights on what we call “regionalized…

Abstract

We review and discuss theoretical approaches from both within and outside of institutional organization theory with regard to their specific insights on what we call “regionalized zones of meaning” – that is, clusters of social meaning that can be distinguished from one another, but at the same time interact and, in specific configurations, form distinct societies. We suggest that bringing meaning structures back into focus is important and may counter-balance the increasing preoccupation of institutional scholars with micro-foundations and the related emphasis on micro-level activities. We bring together central ideas from research on institutional logics with some foundational insights by Max Weber, Alfred Schütz, and German sociologists Rainer Lepsius and Karl-Siegbert Rehberg. In doing so, we also take a cautious look at “practices” by discussing their potential place and role in an institutional framework as well as by exploring generative conversations with proponents of practice theory. We wish to provide inspiration for institutional research interested in shared meaning structures, their relationships to one another, and how they translate into institutional orders.

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On Practice and Institution: Theorizing the Interface
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-413-4

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Book part
Publication date: 16 April 2014

Simona Giorgi, Margaret E. Guider and Jean M. Bartunek

We discuss a recent effort of institutional resistance in the context of the 2008–2011 Apostolic Visitation of U.S. women religious motivated by Vatican concerns about perceived…

Abstract

We discuss a recent effort of institutional resistance in the context of the 2008–2011 Apostolic Visitation of U.S. women religious motivated by Vatican concerns about perceived secularism and potential lack of fidelity among Catholic sisters. We examined the process of and women’s responses to the Visitation to shed light on the institutional work associated with productive resistance and the role of identity and emotions in transforming institutions.

At a time when the male leadership can be blamed for leading the church to a state of crisis – a time when the voices of women are needed more than ever – even the modest roles accorded to female clerics have come under attack. The specific reasons for the investigation are unclear (or, more probably, not public), but the suspicion, clearly, can be put in the crassest terms: too many American nuns have gone off the reservation.

– Lisa Miller, Female Troubles, Newsweek, May 27, 2010

At a time when the male leadership can be blamed for leading the church to a state of crisis – a time when the voices of women are needed more than ever – even the modest roles accorded to female clerics have come under attack. The specific reasons for the investigation are unclear (or, more probably, not public), but the suspicion, clearly, can be put in the crassest terms: too many American nuns have gone off the reservation.

Details

Religion and Organization Theory
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-693-4

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Article
Publication date: 9 January 2020

Tobias Polzer and Christoph Reichard

The European Commission is pursuing an initiative to establish European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS) as a common mandatory set of rules for financial reporting of…

493

Abstract

Purpose

The European Commission is pursuing an initiative to establish European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS) as a common mandatory set of rules for financial reporting of all member states of the European Union (EU). As a basis for developing EPSAS, the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) are being used. The purpose of this paper is to structure and analyze the discussion around EPSAS, with particular emphasis on the arguments that were brought forward by governments and other stakeholders of various EU countries regarding the suitability of IPSAS.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on several schools of thought in new institutional theory, how the prevailing institutional contexts in countries influence the debates is explored. Empirically, this research investigates the responses to a consultation on the suitability of IPSAS for EU member states and takes a closer look, via document analysis, at France and Germany as two critical cases.

Findings

It is found that, first, the majority of arguments from respondents are framed in a rational choice way. Second, skeptics of IPSAS tend to make arguments rather from positions closer to historical and/or sociological institutionalism.

Research limitations/implications

The paper illustrates that while technical matters around EPSAS seem solvable, political, historical and cultural differences go deeper, and need to be addressed by change agents. Regarding limitations of the research, first, the analysis concentrates on financial reporting and does not deal with the implications for more reliable and comparable national accounts in the context of the European System of Accounts (ESA, 2010). Second, it is focused on debates in the context of the EPSAS proposal, and there is a need for an evaluation after the changes have gone live.

Originality/value

The study looks at a text genre that has so far received less attention in public sector accounting research: responses to consultations. The paper contributes to the literature by showing how institutional contexts matter in settings characterized by contestation of reform contents.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 33 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

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