| 1. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Docent, universitetslektor, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Agency Control or Autonomy? : Government Steering of Swedish Government Agencies 2003–2017
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Public Management Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1096-7494 .- 1559-3169. ; 24:3, s. 330-349
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A central claim of the NPM doctrine is that public sector organizations will deliver better quality and improve efficiency if managers are given more autonomy in managerial and operational decisions. At the same time the idea is to keep managers under close control, which has led to the introduction of result-control instruments. This balancing strategy is referred to as the paradox of autonomization. There is, however, still scarce knowledge on whether and how the proposed balancing techniques work. Using a unique database on Swedish government agencies this article aims to mitigate this deficiency (N=1752). A balancing strategy is mainly confirmed, since higher managerial and structural autonomy are balanced with more external results control by government. We show that governments’ attempts at more managerial approaches to public service provision in reality add new ex post controls without reducing the old ones. However, policy and financial autonomy are not balanced by increased results control—these dimensions diminish when controlling for budget size. This study is an answer to a general call for more objective measures for evaluating bureaucratic autonomy
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| 2. |
- Axelsson, Karin, PhD, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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Strategic management in the public sector - the case of the Swedish transport administration
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Public Management Journal. - 1096-7494 .- 1559-3169.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Strategic management in the public sector has become quite popular in practice and several studies have shown that it has an impact on organizational performance. However, we still know little of how strategic management unfolds in practice. Overall, our message is that there are specific challenges that appear when applying strategic management in a public sector context that need to be handled to enhance the possibility of succeeding with strategy work. We present these challenges in terms of four tensions emerging in strategy work: planned versus emergent strategies, legitimacy versus practicality, administrative management versus innovative approach, and accessibility versus security. Based on these identified tensions, we suggest four propositions that not only have implications for further research, but also practical implications.
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| 3. |
- Berntson, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Typical Situations for Managers in the Swedish Public Sector: Cluster Analysis of Working conditions using the Job Demands-Resources Model
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Public Management Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1096-7494 .- 1559-3169. ; 15:1, s. 100-130
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Managers in many public domains have to meet major challenges today, why it is essential to focus on their working conditions in order to develop a sustainable situation. In the present study, the aim was to explore different types of managerial situations and how they discriminate in health, motivation and performance outcomes. Using the job demands-resources model as a framework, four demands and three resources were included in a cluster analysis in order to answer the research question. In total, 548 managers in Sweden participated, including heads of department, middle managers, firstline managers, team leaders and expert managers. The most important finding was that the eight clusters of managerial situations, that were found, discriminated in a distinct way against each other regarding health, motivation and performance. The results can be used as guidance for organizational intervention as both very satisfactory and very unsatisfactory situations are identified.
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| 4. |
- Brorström, Sara, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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Strategizing and “strategifying” for the common good: the case of deprived neighborhoods in the Swedish city of Gothenburg
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Public Management Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1096-7494 .- 1559-3169.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Globally, we face grand challenges such as poverty and climate change. In response to such challenges, previous research claims that strategy research should address the “major challenges of contemporary society” this article examines a strategy adopted in Gothenburg, Sweden in an attempt to create an inclusive city through various actions in vulnerable areas. Using the concepts of strategizing and strategifying, the study shows how an attempt to address this challenge put pressure not only on the organization adopting the strategic document, but also on collaborating organizations. This illustrates how a strategic approach to a common challenge can create new organizational solutions and strengthen collaborating networks, although this might also lead to tension between organizations.
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| 5. |
- Brorström, Sara, 1982
(författare)
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The Strategy Process as a Result of Learning, Questioning, and Performing in a City Organization
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Public Management Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1096-7494 .- 1559-3169. ; 23:5, s. 611-630
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article analyzes a strategy-drafting process, using it to illustrate what can happen in a strategy process that affects a city organization but is invisible in the final strategy document. In the ethnographically inspired method, a city organization and its strategy-formulating work were followed for two years. Observations and interviews were the main data-collection methods. The article builds on a framework from the strategy and public management literature. The article concludes that strategy formulation in public organizations is a means of learning new practices, questioning ongoing development, and enhancing performance.
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| 6. |
- Czarniawska, Barbara, 1948
(författare)
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Complex Organizations Still Complex
- 2007
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Ingår i: International Public Management Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1096-7494 .- 1559-3169. ; 10:2, s. 137-151
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 7. |
- Eriksson, Erik, 1977
(författare)
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Coproduction and inclusion: A public administrator perspective
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Public Management Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1096-7494 .- 1559-3169. ; 25:2, s. 217-240
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article theorizes equality and inclusion in coproduction, from the perspective of public administrators. Coproduction may occur across the policy cycle and at the individual, group, and collective levels, and for reasons of both instrumentality (such as improved efficiency) and normativity (such as democracy). Participation of the disadvantaged in various modes of coproduction is essential if the solidarity principle (stipulating prioritization of those in greatest need) is to be taken seriously. However, their access may be hindered due to external exclusion (not having a place) and internal exclusion (not having a say). Whether inclusion of the disadvantaged is argued for in terms of sameness or difference, different reasons are addressed: justice (for the former) as well as additional perspectives and resources (for the latter). Policymakers and practitioners need to recognize that strategies of equality are likely to differ at various levels and modes of coproduction.
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| 8. |
- Härenstam, Annika, et al.
(författare)
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Trust chains in public sector organizations and their significance for work unit performance and employee turnover intention
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Public Management Journal. - 1096-7494 .- 1559-3169.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, we propose that the concept of trust chains can be used to combine two influential traditions in organizational theory - Luhmann ' s work on vertical trust and Putnam ' s ideas on horizontal trust as a collective asset. Trust chains are then studied empirically by exploring how trust is assessed in the relationships between the employees in work units, the immediate managers, and the top management, including politicians and expert functions in a municipal organization. Aggregated data from questionnaires completed by 1,579 employees and their first-line managers in a Swedish municipality resulted in 126 work units. Cluster analysis identified five different configurations of trust chains with convergent and criterion validity. A solid trust chain with reciprocal links between employees in work units via layers of managers to the top management is clearly the most beneficial situation, while other configurations represent a variety of breaches, with less beneficial outcomes in terms of performance and turnover intentions.
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| 9. |
- Härenstam, Annika, 1949, et al.
(författare)
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Trust chains in public sector organizations and their significance for work unit performance and employee turnover intention
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Public Management Journal. - 1096-7494 .- 1559-3169.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, we propose that the concept of trust chains can be used to combine two influential traditions in organizational theory–Luhmann´s work on vertical trust and Putnam´s ideas on horizontal trust as a collective asset. Trust chains are then studied empirically by exploring how trust is assessed in the relationships between the employees in work units, the immediate managers, and the top management, including politicians and expert functions in a municipal organization. Aggregated data from questionnaires completed by 1,579 employees and their first-line managers in a Swedish municipality resulted in 126 work units. Cluster analysis identified five different configurations of trust chains with convergent and criterion validity. A solid trust chain with reciprocal links between employees in work units via layers of managers to the top management is clearly the most beneficial situation, while other configurations represent a variety of breaches, with less beneficial outcomes in terms of performance and turnover intentions.
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| 10. |
- Höglund, Linda, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Strategic Management in the Public Sector : How tools enable and constrain strategy-making
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Public Management Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1096-7494 .- 1559-3169. ; 21:5, s. 822-849
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite growing interest in discourse and strategy, few studies have examined their role in the public sector. This study uses the concept of interpretative repertoires, i.e., localized discourses, to examine how facts are constructed about strategic work in a central government agency. It analyzes strategic work in relation to the public sector context and draws attention to power struggles among different repertoires in this context. The identified repertoires can be related to wider public sector management discourses that civil servants need to balance in their strategic work. These discourses can both enable and constrain strategy work, and we conclude that strategy in the public sector needs to be understood in relation to these discourses.
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