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The aim of this paper is to outline the sets of factors influential on the implementation of public management reform in the politico‐administrative context of Italy.

Provides a combination of different research designs, multiple case studies on regional governments.

Some broad sets of factors affecting implementation of public management reform have been identified They include: characteristics of the administrative tradition and features of the politico‐administrative context; the design of the reform package and the coalition of interests sustaining the reform; behavioural triggers; and the building over the time of management capacity at the level of individual public sector organisations.

Research limitations include the availability of empirical evidence given the width of the phenomenon under investigation, as well as the broader caveats that apply to researching vast and complex problems like those concerning management reforms at nation‐wide level. Some implications for the development of a broader comparative research agenda on countries in the Napoleonic administrative tradition are proposed.

Provides an interpretation of the dynamics of the process of implementation of public management reforms in Italy by combining a plurality of theoretical sources.

This paper aims to outline the contents of the special issue on public management reform in countries in the Napoleonic administrative tradition, discussing alternative explanatory frameworks, and proposing paths for future research.

This article provides reviews of the papers in the special issue.

Some broad sets of factor affecting implementation of public management reform in Napoleonic countries are outlined, schematised in a specific table, and discussed in the light of potential alternative frameworks, like cultural analysis.

Research limitations include the availability of empirical evidence given the width of the phenomenon under investigation (public management reform in five countries). Implications for the development of a broader comparative research agenda on countries in the Napoleonic administrative tradition (and others) are proposed.

The special issue, of which this paper provides an overview, fills a gap in the literature by providing systematic and comparative analysis of public management reform in five under‐investigated countries in the Napoleonic administrative tradition, arguably an important contribution to the widening of the comparative research agenda in public management.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, through different interpretative theories, the implementation and operation of performance measurement systems (PMS) considering the factors crucial in influencing the development and the operational difficulties of the PMS in a context such as Italy, which is typically unresponsive to new public management-inspired ideas.

A theoretical framework is developed through the use of new institutional sociology and management control theory. The empirical study involves the whole ministerial sector, and explores some strategic documents belonging to the new PMS introduced in Italy in 2009.

The research illustrates a widespread dissemination of the reform in ministries. However, it has also shown the ceremonial and superficial implementation of the PMS. In addition, the findings confirm that the operation and the actual development of a PMS is strongly affected by the characteristics of the activity under examination.

The peculiarity of the Italian context limits the generalizability of the findings to countries with similar public sector management and culture. Further studies may investigate the system through an individual perspective, i.e. exploring the role of individual managers in slowing down the operations of the evaluation systems.

This paper contributes to the debate on the implementation and operation of administrative reforms in legalistic countries also known as Rechtsstaat countries. The use of multiple theories allows investigating the subject matter by considering its complexity in a holistic way.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the adoption of managerial innovations in the public sector, identifying the reasons why their uptake and use may fail.

The problem is investigated empirically through a case study approach. The change processes resulting from the adoption of two managerial innovations within the same Italian Central Government Institution are illustrated in detail.

Both cases represent a failure in the adoption and use of managerial innovations, attributable to a complex interplay of external and organisational forces. The empirical investigation points out the relevancy of individuals' actions and choices. The real explanation for the failure of both projects in fact seems to be key individuals' inability: first to “make sense” of what the innovation was about and second to communicate this “sense” throughout the organisation.

The findings are based on data from the Italian Central Government, and as such are not extendable elsewhere. However, the mechanisms of change examined here may be of wider interest to other public sector organisations.

The paper analyses a real‐world attempt to deploy managerial innovations in the public sector, and the resultant impact. A theoretical framework based on institutional theory and its recent advances is used to better understand the plural factors influencing the use of managerial innovations.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a qualitative analysis of change in order to understand which factors inhibit or, conversely, facilitate the enactment process of managers' performance appraisal and reward systems.

The problem is investigated empirically through a multiple case study approach. The change processes that result from the adoption of performance appraisal and reward systems in six Italian central government institutions are illustrated in detail.

The cases reveal differentiated patterns of organizational change and lead to a problematic overview. The desired technical and cultural organisational transformations are limited by an interplay of organisational and wider environment forces.

The findings are based on data from the Italian central government, and as such are not directly extendable elsewhere, although they may result to be of interest to other public sector organisations.

The paper offers a comprehensive view of organisational change processes, ranging from the initial decision to adopt a managerial instrument to the final use of this instrument. A theoretical framework combining two, apparently diverging approaches, neoinstitutionalism and organisational change management, is used to better understand the plural factors that influence the change processes.