Managerial innovations in central government: not wrong, but hard to explain
International Journal of Public Sector Management
ISSN: 0951-3558
Article publication date: 26 January 2010
Abstract
Purpose
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.
Design/methodology/approach
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.
Findings
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.
Research limitations/implications
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.
Originality/value
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.
Keywords
Citation
Arnaboldi, M., Azzone, G. and Palermo, T. (2010), "Managerial innovations in central government: not wrong, but hard to explain", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 78-93. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513551011012349
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited