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The ideology and practice of trade unions in the public services has traditionally reflected the organisational culture of the ‘public service’ state agencies in which they organised. The neo‐liberal state restructuring of the 1980s contested traditional notions of ‘public service’ and attempted to impose new cultural definitions of ‘public service’ based on economic and political individualism. This paper explores the struggle over the meaning of ‘public service’ in the context of trade union campaigns against the privatisation of the water industry and the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) in local government. The authors develop the argument that these campaigns highlight both the weakness and contradictions of traditional forms of public service trade unionism and the possibilities and dangers for public service trade unions in the deregulated and privatised public services of the 1990s.

Examines the development of marketing in the public service and presents a short discussion of the growth of marketing in public service organizations over the last 20 years. A critical analysis of marketing as applied to the public service, argues that, if it is applicable, it needs to be adapted to the particular character of the public realm. Gives an analysis of how an approach to marketing that is appropriate to the public service might be developed. This implies not so much the application of marketing as it exists, but the development of a new form of marketing. The management of the public sector is political management, and marketing, if it is to be effective, will need to be politically informed.

The citizenization of agricultural transfer population is the key content of urbanization. At present, the agricultural transfer population can't enjoy the same public service supply in urban integration. Based on this, in this paper, the planning and design of public service supply and the urban integration of agricultural transfer population were studied. The problems existing in urban integration of agricultural transfer population were analyzed, and the basic public service status of the agricultural transfer population in urban integration was expounded. Then, the basic public service needs of the agricultural transfer population in urban integration were analyzed, and the planning and design of urban basic public service supply were put forward. After that, taking the construction of the public service for agricultural transfer of population in a city as an example, a case analysis of the planning and design was carried out. The practice shows that the planning of urban public facilities service is beneficial to the urban integration of the rural population.

The paper discusses the balance between values and economic efficiency in the public sector in comparison with the private sector. The argument is that the public sector, hence the public welfare service institutions, can learn much from the private service sector, hence the private service firms with regard to the relation to values, ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and efficiency in order to improve the balance between values and efficiency in the public sector.

The paper discusses the concept of balance in relation to the development of the management of private service companies as a useful alternative to new public management (NPM). It discusses this with regard to three issues: the evolution of the management of private companies; what can the public sector, hence the public welfare institutions, learn from the evolution of management of private companies? How would it be possible for governments to work for an alternative to NPM, on the basis of the experiences of management of private companies, improving the balance between values and economic efficiency in the public sector?

It is argued that a deadlock in the development of efficiency management in the public sector, hence in the public welfare service institutions, is created. It is argued, furthermore, that this deadlock to a great extent, paradoxically, is created because of the focusing on NPM for almost two decades as the most important tool to develop efficiency management in the public sector. Finally, it is argued that the experiences in private companies regarding how to find a proper balance between values, ethics, CSR and economic efficiency can be very helpful in developing a strategy within the public sector to unlock the deadlock regarding the development of efficiency management. That is why the experiences of management of the private services companies can become a constructive alternative to the experiences of NPM in the public sector at the level of welfare institutions.

There would be potential for more research on CSR, business ethics and values‐driven management in relation to the public sector.

The paper offers new insight into the relation between values, CSR and management models in the private and in the public sector.

The puropse of this paper is to understand the components of Vroom's expectancy theory; to create or develop a public library customer motivation model using Vroom's expectancy theory; to suggest appropriate public library services marketing mindset which public libraries can employ to enhance customers’ perceived expectancy and instrumentality of public library services to motivate customers to use public library services more frequently based on the proposed public library customer motivation model; and to suggest appropriate public library services marketing strategies to motivate customers to use public library services more frequently based on the proposed public library customer motivation model.

Research paper based on expectancy theory.

Customer‐centered mindset is the most important factor to motivate public library customers. Furthermore, the suggested marketing strategies can be also achieved through a customer‐centered marketing mindset. In conclusion, public libraries should continuously focus on the recognition of customers’ needs and deliver long‐term value to customers.

There were few studies that focused on library users’ motivations for using library products and services. In addition, there was a lack of developed theory in library and information science field.

Public leisure service providers have become increasingly conscious of the need to improve the quality of their service provision as a result of increasing customer expectations, growing competition and government legislation. This paper presents the findings of a survey carried out in the UK, investigating the role of quality schemes in public leisure services. The study shows that a significant proportion of public leisure service providers are using quality schemes to manage the quality of their facilities. In addition, the findings show that managers are using quality schemes to improve customer satisfaction and improve management effectiveness. Finally, the study provides evidence of the positive effect of quality schemes upon service delivery aspects of these facilities, but little evidence of the financial advantages of such schemes.

This study aims to address citizen agency in value co-creation (VCC) in the context of public administration. It asks how citizen agency is presented in the VCC discussion to deepen the understanding of VCC as a dynamic interplay between public organisations and citizens adopting various forms of agency.

This study utilises the integrative literature review method, applying a two-round search process. Altogether, 40 scientific articles were subjected to content analysis to acquire a deeper understanding of citizen agency.

The VCC discussion represents citizens as resource integrators, experiencers, co-producers and beneficiaries. In addition, the study raises the questions of activity and voluntariness and the level of involvement linked to citizen agency in VCC. The connection between the VCC discussion and collective-side citizen activity is weak because the democratic aspects of the discussion are limited.

This article contributes to the VCC discussion by painting a clear picture of citizen agency, which is also linked to the democratic essence and potential of VCC. It also identifies the potential weaknesses of the VCC conceptual debate.

This article sheds light on citizen agency in the context of the VCC discussion, which is an understudied issue in public administration research. The present study helps to enhance the discussion concerning the democratic potential of VCC.

Digitalization is transforming public service delivery, potentially increasing efficiency and availability but risking excluding vulnerable people with weak digital skills. Despite technological advances, frontline professionals remain a crucial element of service value creation, as many services require human interaction, even if it is digitally mediated. This study surveys frontline professionals to capture their experiences and assess whether digital encounters meet their clients’ needs.

The dataset comprises 15 interviews with professionals assisting migrant clients. The data were analysed using abductive thematic analysis, utilizing viewpoints about the digital divide and digital public services from previous literature.

The study emphasizes three pivotal elements inherent in digital public encounters with migrant clients: (1) a high administrative burden due to clients’ weak technological competency, Finnish skills and knowledge of the local public service system, (2) the importance of interpersonal trust and (3) the shifting and pressurized role of the professional.

The main novelty of this study lies in illustrating that administrative burden and trust are interconnected. This study contributes to public management research by enhancing the understanding of digital public service development. It provides crucial insights from frontline professionals, which could pave the way for applying technology to public services to benefit all citizens, including vulnerable populations.

The purpose of this study is to analyze how public buildings and their condition relate to how satisfied users are with related public services.

Data from two surveys are coupled: a survey of public officials on the state of public buildings and on their expectation of the impact on public services and a citizen survey that includes satisfaction measures for public services. Public records on finances and other relevant aspects of local governments are also considered.

Expectations of public officials on the impact of building conditions on services are weakly correlated with satisfaction of the public with public services. When factors that may impact building conditions as well as services are controlled for, the results are fragmented. For nursing homes, poor building conditions and low satisfaction with elderly care are significantly related. For kindergartens and schools, as well as the overall measure, there is no significant relationship between building conditions and satisfaction with public services.

The results are contrary to earlier analysis and may indicate data quality issues. The results also demonstrate the lack of understanding of how public buildings support and facilitate the production of public services.

This study explores the phenomenon of service value co-destruction within public service ecosystems (PSEs), focusing on the causes of value co-destruction and the inherent tension between public and private value creation/destruction.

Qualitative data was collected through 36 semi-structured interviews with diverse stakeholders within the ecosystem of electricity services in Pakistan, including electricity suppliers, users and connected agencies involved in electricity generation, transmission, regulation, monitoring and coordination tasks.

The study identified various causes of service value co-destruction in PSEs, involving multiple actors responsible for value co-destruction. The research revealed the co-existence and intersection of public and private values within PSEs, highlighting the complex dynamics between value creation and destruction resulting in value imbalance and value erosion.

Value co-destruction is a plausible outcome of dynamic interactions among various stakeholders in public service delivery, and it can have significant consequences on service quality and public value. Multiple stakeholders, in the governance network, can actively contribute to the co-destruction of service value.

Practitioners should consider the broader ecosystem where not only service providers but also service users and other connected actors, such as public, private and nonprofit organizations, collectively contribute to either co-creating or co-destroying service value.

Grounded in PSL perspective, the findings deepen our understanding of the complexities surrounding public service delivery in PSEs. It provides a fresh perspective on how various actors collectively shape the value of these services.