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The security aspects of public sector information systems are important as the respective systems are often part of critical infrastructures or deal with personal or sensitive data. A set of 53 Greek public sector organizations were investigated by means of a structured questionnaire concerning important aspects of information systems security. We present the relevant theoretical background, the methodology of our research, and an analysis of the obtained results. Greek public sector organizations have only a basic level of information system security awareness. Most care about digital data confidentiality; however, only a small percentage have developed a systematic, complete, and integrated approach towards the security of their information system, including internal audit procedures. The importance of proper training and generally the importance of the human factor for achieving high levels of information systems security is often underestimated.

In the performance measurement and management research field, the applicability of performance measurement systems (PMS) in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and public administration has been considered a challenge. The diversity of these organizations makes it difficult to define proper terminology and organizational characteristics. PMS evolution has not yet been able to capture all performance dimensions of a public administration and, especially for NPO considering its dynamic and multiple goals. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework that identifies and classifies the factors that influence the design of PMSs in NPOs and public administration.

The study was developed through a systematic literature review (SLR). A set of 29 papers were intensely studied, and the results provide a multi-disciplinary and holistic set of factors.

A set of ten factors that influence the design of PMSs in NPO and public administration were found. They were categorized into three groups: factor related to purpose, stakeholders and management.

The study synthesized the literature and provided a conceptual framework of the factors that influence the design of PMSs in NPO and public administration. No individual paper collected in the SLR shows a similar organization of the factors as the present paper. The set of factors indicates the importance of this study for NPO and public administration, and how complex a PMS in an NPO and public administration can become. The conceptual model presented can further assist practitioners in developing design process observing the role that the identified factors play.

Presents findings of empirical research in Greek public, quasi‐public, and private organizations. Results show that commitment of managers decreases as we progress along a continuum from private towards publicly‐owned organizations; managers report the existence of a gap between the perceived and the desired organizational culture of their firm, and this “culture gap” tends to increase as we move from the private towards the public sector; organizational commitment appears to be influenced negatively by the culture gap, therefore this gap offers a plausible explanation for the lower commitment in public sector firms.

This purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how different diversity approaches of public, semi-public and private sector organizations affect negative treatment experienced in the workplace. Broadly speaking, organizations might either approach diversity as a problem of inequality or as a resource and an added value for the organization. As such, a pro-equality and a pro-diversity approach can be distinguished which are both examined in this paper.

In a quantitative study, structural equation modeling was used on survey data of a representative sample of Dutch employees.

Results show that while both approaches are negatively associated with negative treatment, the pro-diversity is most strongly so. Sector differences were less pronounced than expected, although employees across different sectors of employment benefit from both the approaches to a different extent.

Further research examining the effect of diversity approaches to negative treatment across sectors is required. Suggestions for further research are discussed.

Looking at sector differences, the findings showed that employees across public, semi-public and private sector organizations benefitted from the diversity approaches to a different extent. Organizations across different sectors are therefore suggested to adopt different diversity approaches to combat negative treatment in the workplace.

Most studies either focus on a pro-equality or pro-diversity approach. The present study combines both and, moreover, pays attention to the way both approaches affect negative treatment experienced in the semi-public sector. Examining variation within the public sector is unique in the context of diversity research.

The objective of this paper is to develop and describe a construct of the “ethos of the codes of ethics” (i.e. an ECE construct) in the private and public sectors of Sweden.

The paper takes a cross‐sector approach to codes of ethics amongst the top private sector companies and the top public sector organisations. The paper then examines the measures put in place by the dual sample in order to describe the ethos of their codes of ethics.

The multivariate techniques used in the statistical analysis indicated that the ECE‐construct consists of five dimensions: ethical bodies, ethical tools, ethical support procedures, internal ethics usage, and external ethics usage.

It should be noted that the ECE construct has been derived from large companies and organisations in private and public Sweden, which may indicate less applicability to smaller operations. Another limitation may be the validity and reliability across other cultural samples. The dual sample contains a variety of different types of operations, but it may not be transferable to other countries.

The outcome is based on data from private companies and public organisations that indicated they had corporate codes of ethics. Therefore, a suggestion for further research is to examine the ECE construct in other countries/cultures that differ from the ones in this research effort performed in the private and public sectors of Sweden.

The ECE construct introduced makes a contribution to theory and practice in the field as it is based upon a dual sample. It makes a contribution to theory as it outlines a construct for the benefit of other researchers working in both the private and the public sectors. The authors also believe that it may be of managerial interest as it provides a grounded framework of areas to be considered in the implementation of the codes of ethics in both private companies and public organisations.

This study aims to examine the effect of publics' legitimacy evaluations on Arthur W. Page's conceptualization of “reasonable freedom of action” by breaking it into two parts: (1) perceived organizational autonomy and (2) trust in the organization.

This study conducted an online experiment using a 2 (legitimacy: low, high) × 2 (legitimacy type: institutional, actional) between-subjects design. Measured variables included perceived organizational autonomy and trust.

Organizations acting in their own self-interest while ignoring community norms and expectations were perceived to be exercising higher levels of organizational autonomy and have lower levels of trust. The interaction between legitimacy type and level had an effect on perceived organizational autonomy and trust.

Public's view their relationships with organizations from a perspective that prioritizes responsibility and conformity to community norms and expectations. Also, organizations have more to lose by acting in their own self-interest to resolve institutional legitimacy concerns and more to gain by handling them in a way that includes the public interest than when they are managing an actional legitimacy situation.

Societal norms, values and beliefs, which may have accommodated, or even supported, an organization's approach to doing business in the past, can change over time, calling into question an organization's legitimacy and its ability to operate in the public interest. As a result, organizational leaders need the Chief Communication Officer to help them understand current societal norms, values and beliefs.

This study addresses a core assumption of the organization–public relationship paradigm that has not yet been studied empirically. It also expands the understanding of organizational autonomy from a public perspective and examines the effect of legitimacy on organizational autonomy and trust.

The purpose of this paper is to understand how has the European Union (EU) funding influenced projectification of the Polish public sector. The projectification of the public sector is analysed in relation to three levels: mega (state level), macro (sector level) and mezo (organisation level). Hence, it is understood as a multidimensional phenomenon that permeates different social structures. The study also applies elements of neoinstitutional theory and Europeanisation concept to the research on projectification.

The research is based on the mixed methods approach. The adopted methods (document analysis, quantitative analysis and in-depth interviews) are both qualitative and quantitative in nature and were used sequentially to address the research question, while securing the triangulation of the data.

The Polish public sector was projectified as a result of the implementation of hundreds of thousands of projects co-financed by the EU, which among other things, effected in legal regulations that support the project implementation of public tasks and changes in organisational structures towards a project-oriented direction. At public organisation level, it causes changes in the scope of organisational structures, strategic management processes and methods of work. On the basis of the assumptions that explain the mechanism of organisational isomorphism and Europeanisation, the paper may conclude that the public sector projectification process was triggered by a misfit between the projectified EU structures and the low degree of projectification in the Polish public sector.

The study is the first step to try to understand how the massification of project activities can affect the activities of the public sector of the particular country and the shaping of public policies at home. Because Poland has been the largest beneficiary of EU funds in Europe for over ten years, it can be assumed that these processes in this country are particularly intense. An attempt was also made to identify the scale of the public sector projectification process in Poland by not only describing, but also quantifying the phenomenon.

The purpose of this paper is to seek to clarify the conceptual building blocks of relationship building between non-governmental groups (NGOs) and news media, which is essential for the development of civil society where dialogue is a product of ongoing communication and relationships.

The paper is based on an online survey with a sample size of 296 NGOs from India. The data are analyzed with SPSS to test six hypotheses related to dialogic orientation, media relations, relationship quality and the NGOs’ structural characteristics.

The study found that an organization's dialogic orientation has a positive impact on media relations knowledge and strategy but not on the action dimension that focusses on providing information subsidies to journalists. A stronger dialogic orientation is also associated with better organization-media relationships. A stronger engagement in media relations also has a more positive impact on the quality of organization-media relationship. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The findings of this study are limited to a sample of NGOs from India. Future research should address more diverse samples to better understand the dynamics of media relations in NGOs, and how their patterns of media relations, use of information subsidies, culture and media choice shape news coverage and their impact in developing civil society.

By approaching media relations from an organizational perspective to investigate media relations in the NGO sector to address an under-researched area, the study is able to draw out the significant relationships between and among three distinct and yet connected conceptual building blocks of public relations.

This study examines unexplored horizontal accountability types between public, private and third sector actors within a hybrid organization. The case organization was applying a novel alliance model to generate service paths for heterogeneous clientele consuming cultural, educational, health and social services. It was first to do so in Finland.

This research is on a case study that used documents and interviews to examine the design of the horizontal accountability. The descriptive analysis focused on identifying what type of formal accountability system was designed (i.e. who is the account holder, and who is accountable and for what and why).

An imbalanced accountability system was identified because accountability obligations were unevenly distributed between public, private and third sector actors. The private sector was the most accountable for performance, and the third sector (i.e. voluntary sector) was the least accountable. As account holders, the public, private and third sector actors were judging their conduct as account providers. This created a biased horizontal accountability system. The hybrid's accountability system was dynamic because the contracts made to establish the hybrid included opportunities to change horizontal accountability if future changes to the external environment affect too drastically the potential to achieve the hybrid's goals.

Three new concepts are proposed for studying dysfunctional accountability systems: dynamic, biased and horizontally imbalanced accountability.

This article was written to encourage scholars to not forget to include the power of hierarchy in their studies of leadership in public sector organizations. Contemporary theories of leadership too often assume that hierarchy will wither away once the leader imposes his or her will on the organization, an assumption that does not seem to work in reality given the bureaucratic nature of public organizations. Instead it is argued that we can learn about public sector leadership needs by remembering the power of hierarchy and what it demands in terms of leadership from different levels in the organization. The article concludes with speculation as to how future research on leadership might be directed with hierarchy in mind.