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This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/09513559710156706. When citing the article, please cite: Martin Kitchener, Richard Whipp, (1997), “Tracks of change in hospitals: a study of quasi-market transformation”, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 10 Iss: 1/2, pp. 47 - 61.

Max Weber called the maxim “Time is Money” the surest, simplest expression of the spirit of capitalism. Coined in 1748 by Benjamin Franklin, this modern proverb now has a life of its own. In this paper, I examine the worldwide diffusion and sociocultural history of this paradigmatic expression. The intent is to explore the ways in which ideas of time and money appear in sedimented form in popular sayings.

My approach is sociological in orientation and multidisciplinary in method. Drawing upon the works of Max Weber, Antonio Gramsci, Wolfgang Mieder, and Dean Wolfe Manders, I explore the global spread of Ben Franklin’s famed adage in three ways: (1) via evidence from the field of “paremiology” – that is, the study of proverbs; (2) via online searches for the phrase “Time is Money” in 30-plus languages; and (3) via evidence from sociological and historical research.

The conviction that “Time is Money” has won global assent on an ever-expanding basis for more than 250 years now. In recent years, this phrase has reverberated to the far corners of the world in literally dozens of languages – above all, in the languages of Eastern Europe and East Asia.

Methodologically, this study unites several different ways of exploring the globalization of the capitalist spirit. The main substantive implication is that, as capitalism goes global, so too does the capitalist spirit. Evidence from popular sayings gives us a new foothold for insight into questions of this kind.

Argues that the widespread weakness of marketing implementation stems from the marketing discipline′s neglect of ideology in the organizational change process. By contrast with accountancy, marketing has failed to appreciate and develop its own “professional ideology”. Two short case studies demonstrate the various ways in which the mobilization of ideology can be important to achieving marketing‐led change. Concludes by suggesting some directions for the marketing profession′s development, especially for strengthening the credibility and exclusivity of its ideological claims.

Attention to the realities of developing a market orientation has increased as managers endeavour to cope with the increasingly competitive contexts within which they operate. This paper considers, at the levels of organisation and individual, the transformation process within the industrial Research and Development and National Health Service sectors.

The research sees the nature of management as a critical aspect of competitiveness. It outlines an approach to strategic change and competitiveness which highlights both the linkages involved and the central role of management.

The work of Craig Calhoun is examined as a perspective on the operation of community structures. Three facets are considered: Calhoun's model of the pre‐industrial community resting on linked multiple social relationships; parallel studies; comparisons across time and between regional or national settings. The conventional view is that national societal differences have been paramount in differentiating the long‐term profiles (e.g. economic growth) of nation states. Here the continuing importance of localised patterns of economic and social activity is emphasised.

The election of the Conservative Government in 1979 heralded a diversion from the post‐war, Keynesian public policy model which envisaged incrementally expanding, centrally‐funded service provision (Hall, 1988). Largely in response to mounting financial crises, and building on earlier managerialist initiatives (eg. Griffiths, 1983), a new public sector management paradigm began to emerge at the beginning of the 1990s (Booth, 1993). This new paradigm, which was informed by the New Right's ‘public choice theory’ emphasised: fiscal re‐organisation, privatisation, the separation of purchaser and provider roles within quasi‐markets and the sovereignty of the customer (Butler and Vaile, 1991; Thompson, 1992). These ideological and structural changes are now recognised as a significant break with the past (Fitzgerald, 1993), and even John Major acknowledges the programme as a ‘revolution in progress’ (Major, 1989:1). Importantly, the reformers have often ritualistically, cast aside traditional, public sector and professional values (Pollitt, 1990a; Hood, 1991). In their place, a diffuse set of management ideas have been imported from the private sector. These have subsequently been aggregated and termed the “New Public Management” by commentators such as Harrow and Wilcocks (1990) and Steward and Walsh (1992).

Within discussions of the “new public management” (NPM) it is suggested that professionals increasingly face managerial initiatives that are designed to reduce their autonomy and monitor their work. This paper draws on study data from the local authority children’s homes sector to assess Power’s predictions regarding the “colonisation” and “decoupling” of management audits within professional state agencies. The findings suggest that the introduction of a managerial audit in children’s residential social work has involved a complex, negotiated and uneven process in which older patterns of autonomy have proved to be resilient. A key outcome has been the sometimes ritualistic and partial implementation of the audit process.

Examines the process of change in hospitals that has emerged following the introduction of the health quasi‐market in 1991. Blends empirical evidence with Greenwood and Hinings’ archetype and tracks of change concepts to analyse the process which is labelled quasi‐market transformation (QMT). Argues that, before 1991, hospitals tended to operate within structures and systems underpinned by an interpretive scheme. Represents these similarities of configuration as the directly‐managed (DM) hospital archetype. When change initiatives challenged this configuration, the outcomes were negotiated and resulted in “adjustmental” change. In contrast, shows the introduction of the quasi‐market to have involved the first transformation of the DM archetype’s interpretive scheme, systems and structures. Analyses four years of transition to reveal that QMT has been interpreted differently within hospitals. However, presents data to suggest that many hospitals now display significant similarities in terms of configuration. Represents these similarities within the emerging Trust hospital archetype.