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This chapter addresses the potential for knowledge, learning, and collaboration (KLC) cultures in public sector organizations. Public sector organizations are among the most complex for introducing or nourishing a KLC approach because there are multiple levels of cultures with varying levels of influence. We describe these complex cultures as tiers. First, we define public sector organizations’ business goals, purpose, and strategies. Then, the authors translate and interpret all five levels of culture for public sector organizations. The chapter also details the nature of cultural complexity, namely the four tiers of public sector cultures: (1) the company culture (Tier 1); (2) the public service culture (Tier 2); (3) the culture of the external environment (Tier 3); and (4) the internal KLC cultures (Tier 4). This chapter establishes a framework for describing an organization’s complex culture and determining the best KLC approach for the context.

The purpose of this research is to identify and analyze the core values of the Peruvian public sector in the particular context of recent public management reforms.

After distinguishing between traditional private and public sector values, the paper compared the presence of each of these types of values in two very different sources of data: input from employees' values survey and formal values statements of Peruvian public sector organizations. The analysis includes both a comparison of the presence of traditional public and private sector values in the two sources of data and the identification of the cultural profile of the public sector of Peru using the tri-axial model.

The findings indicate a large gap between values at the theoretical level and values at the practical level. While values statements of public organizations in Peru clearly reflect traditional public sector values, in practice, public sector employees appear to follow a mixture of public and private sector values. Strengthening this conclusion is the finding that the cultural tri-axial profile of the sector is purely economic-pragmatic, which suggests that ethical and emotional values are positioned lower on the values hierarchy.

This paper provides the first evidence of two important cultural phenomena in the Peruvian public sector: a broad adoption of private sector values and a gap between the values that are proposed as ethical guidelines (ideal) and the values that are followed in practice (real). The combination of these two phenomena suggests a potential risk to the ethical functioning of the public administration. This risk is especially significant in a developing country like Peru, where many of its poor citizens depend on government support. The paper discusses both the research and practical implications of this study.

The purpose of the paper is to explore the values in the public sector in Italy using the tri-axial model and explore the reasons why these values are important for the Italian public sector.

An online questionnaire was prepared in Italian and sent to the public sector employees all over Italy.

The findings demonstrate that Italian public sector is 100 percent economic-pragmatic according to the tri-axial model. One of the reasons of this result is the reforms made in the public sector which have stressed the importance of values like efficiency and professionalism.

The main limitation of the study is the sample size. Further research should focus on increasing the number of the sample as well as compare the regions in Italy.

The conclusions derived from this research suggest that Italian public sector employees perceive themselves as economic-pragmatic.

This study is the first study that maps the values in the public sector in Italy using tri-axial model.

The paper aims to identify the prevailing values of the public sector in Brazil, based on the tri-axial model. The study proposes to capture the dynamics between different values axes of Brazilian public sector as well as to detect cultural differences between genders, level of commitment, and nature of work. An additional contribution is expected in understanding Brazilian values at public sector as a necessary approach to obtain a new order of public administration based on efficiency.

The paper opted for an exploratory study developed within the scope of a larger study aiming to understand the meaning of values in different cultures with an exclusive focus on the public sectors. Using a pre-validated questionnaire, 137 respondents, who work on Brazilian public sector, participated in the survey. A frequency analysis was conducted for various demographic variables. Descriptive statistics were used to understand the profile of the respondents in Brazil's survey. We have used the criteria recommended to all countries that participated in the study.

This empirical work demonstrate that the methodology based on the tri-axial model was able to capture the dynamics between different values axes of Brazilian public sector as well as to detect cultural differences between genders, level of commitment and nature of work. The dominant values perceived in almost every analysis, belong to pragmatic-economic axis such as professionalism, teamwork, adventure, knowledge, and challenge. This strong orientation to pragmatism is consistent with the needs of the Brazilian public sector to have a more entrepreneurial vision and focus on optimization the use of the financial resources.

Because of the chosen sample approach, the research results may lack generalizability.

The paper includes implications for a management based on values as a model to obtain efficiency at public sector in Brazil

This research is part of an international project interesting in investigating values within different countries and cultures. It provides data from a country that belongs to an emergent group of world economy such as BRICs and has different scenery compared to traditional actors of global business.

The purpose of the paper is twofold. The first purpose is to provide a synthesis of the dominant cross-cultural models and to present the more recent tri-axial model as a promising alternative that responds well to the limitation of prevailing models. Consequently, the second purpose is to employ the model to explore key differences in the culture and values of public service organisations in old and new EU member states.

The paper surveyed public sector employees in four different countries, two old EU (OEU) states (Germany, The Netherlands) and two new EU (NEU) states (Estonia, Lithuania). The employees were asked to classify 60 values on the three axes of the tri-axial model and to select the five most important values in their organization. The survey replies were analyzed and mapped to facilitate comparison of the tri-axial cultural profile of the two EU clusters.

The results show differences in value orientation between the two groups of countries: the public sector in the OEU member states appears to be more ethically and less pragmatically oriented than in the NEU member states. Findings show that in the new member states, value congruence is very high across demographic groups, in contrast to the situation encountered in the OEU member states.

Further research should include more countries before generalising the conclusions of this study to the rest of the OEU and NEU countries. Furthermore, although collecting data from a homogeneous unit (e.g. public sector) suggests more valid comparison, in the future, research should strive to also examine additional units, for example private companies.

The conclusions derived from this exploratory cultural mapping provide useful knowledge for improving international collaboration across public sector organizations.

This study is the first study that maps the values in the public sector using the tri-axial model.

This paper reports an investigation of the personal-values systems of 567 public-sector managers from the U.S., Canada, and Japan. The results of this research indicate that, despite some specific differences, there is an overarching, coherent North American public-sector managerial values systems. Moreover, it is similar in some ways to that of its Japanese counterparts. However, these values systems - North American and Japanese - are clearly distinct

With increased globalization, technology advancements, and interconnectedness, greater alignment on values and leadership is needed. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role that personal values play in sustaining leadership during challenging times. The importance of values as a guidepost in an environment in constant change offers leaders a foundation for decision making.

Narrative inquiry and narrative interviews were used so leaders could share their stories of navigating challenging situations. One group interview was scheduled to share preliminary research findings with the research participants and receive their input. Both narrative analysis and thematic analysis were used.

Sustainable leadership included the ongoing pursuit of personal mastery, a values-based personal and professional support network, and expertise in leading self and other through the inevitable transitions that occur during change and challenge.

The above recommendations allow for leaders to sustain themselves and others while working in service of the common good.

This research offers practical guidance to public sector leaders who wish to sustain themselves amidst the inevitable challenges that they experience as part of their public sector leadership.

Leaders who adopt the above recommendations will be well positioned to support their leadership and to use values as guiding principles to release the hero in everyone around them.

This narrative study harvested the wisdom of the lived experience of leaders working in the public, health, and education sectors who have navigated challenges in their leadership. The findings offer valuable guidance to public sector leaders.

The past 30 years have been a period marked by extensive modernisation programmes in the public sector. Principles taken from the New Public Management agenda have been adopted, and market solutions have been implemented across a broad range of service areas. These reforms have challenged the existing organisational culture of many public sector institutions. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether there has been a detectable change in the dominant values found in professional organisations within the public sector over the past decade, and if so, what challenges the leaders are faced with as a result of these changes.

The empirical data are based on a quantitative survey of leaders in a large Norwegian municipality with a total population of 189 such leaders. Of these, 155 returned the questionnaires, giving a response rate of 82 per cent.

The results of the study show that two central values connected to the New Public Management agenda have gained increased importance over recent years – namely “meeting the needs of individual users”, and “renewal/innovation”. Of the listed values perceived as having become more important, these were ranked as the top two. At the same time, values traditionally associated with the public ethos continue to enjoy a strong position, whereas purely economic values remain relatively insignificant.

All in all, this study shows that the landscape of values in the public sector is changing, and there are strong indications that traditional values have come under pressure from new values embedded in the on‐going institutional reforms.

The paper shows that in a situation where values are changing, leaders may need to put greater emphasis on value‐based leadership.

The purpose of this study is to examine values among public sector employees. Furthermore, this study will identify differences according to several demographical variables with relevant policy making implications.

Once the literature review on public sector values and the description of the tri-axial model is presented, analysis based on a survey of 3,018 public sectors will be undertaken. The sample consists of employees working in the Government of Andalusia, Spain.

Results reveal the domination of pragmatic values, as well as values connected to the ethical axis. The study also shows how these values vary according to several demographic characteristics of the respondents, especially when considering their level of education and their respective tenure.

When managing employees from public organizations, emphasis should be given to the development of an organizational culture that represents a configuration of both pragmatic and ethical axes.

This study was tested with relatively a large sample size (more than 3,000 observations), thus adding significant and original value to the empirical test of the tri-axial model.

The purpose of this paper is to identify unique values and competencies linked to private and public sector environments.

This study is based on critical incident interviews with a sample of senior leaders who had experience in both the public and private sectors.

The findings illustrate distinct public and private sector relevant competencies that reflect the unique values of their organizations and the character of the organization’s environments. This paper suggests a range of distinct public sector competencies including: managing competing interests, managing the political environment, communicating in a political environment, interpersonal motivational skills, adding value for clients, and impact assessment in decision-making. These were very different than those identified as critical for the private sector environment: business acumen, visionary leadership, marketing communication, market acumen, interpersonal communication, client service, and timely and opportunistic decision-making. Private sector competencies reflect private sector environments where goals need to be specifically defined and implemented in a timely manner related to making a profit and surviving in a competitive environment. Public sector competencies are driven by environments exhibiting more complex and unresolvable problems and the need to respond to conflicting publics and serving the public good while surviving in a political environment.

A key message of this study is that competency frameworks need to be connected to the organization’s unique environments and the values that managers are seeking to achieve. This is particularly important for public organizations that have more complex and changing environments.