| 1. |
- Bentzen, Tina Øllgaard, et al.
(author)
-
Keeping the magic alive : The multiple functions of magic concepts
- 2024
-
In: PAR. Public Administration Review. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0033-3352 .- 1540-6210. ; , s. 1-16
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite scholarly fascination with magic concepts, empirical research on how they fare in practice is scarce. This study explores how magic concepts retain their magic when used in public organizations. Using survey data and case studies, we identify “trust” as a magic concept in Scandinavian municipalities and develop a typology of its four central functions. We find that the concept of trust is used to confirm and confront old organizational practices, as well as to calibrate and catalyze new ones. We suggest that the multivocal character of magic concepts enables them to fit multiple agendas simultaneously, strengthening their ability to stay magic.
|
|
| 2. |
- Cäker, Mikael, 1972, et al.
(author)
-
Performance measurement systems, hierarchical accountability and enabling control
- 2022
-
In: Accounting and Business Research. - : Routledge. - 0001-4788 .- 2159-4260. ; 52:7, s. 865-889
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The theory of enabling control explains how the development and design of performance measurement systems (PMSs) induce subordinate managers to experience PMSs as enabling. However, PMSs are often vital to superior managers' control. The empirical research indicates that PMSs cease to be enabling when given a large degree of attention in control processes. We use a qualitative case study, abductive research, and a hierarchical accountability perspective to explore how superior managers' use of PMSs for control purposes may support subordinate managers' experience of PMSs as enabling. We show how superior managers' choices of how to use PMSs to demand and react to accounts may trigger subordinate managers to use the design characteristics of enabling control. We also show how PMSs can be important to superior managers' control and still be experienced as enabling by subordinate managers. We show the importance of two choices for superior managers' use of PMSs in hierarchical accountability: (1) extend performance evaluation over time and (2) limit the discretion for subordinate managers to play out within hierarchical communication.
|
|
| 3. |
- Siverbo, Sven, 1970-, et al.
(author)
-
On the diffusion and implementation of trust-based management in Scandinavia : cross-country survey evidence
- 2024
-
In: International Journal of Public Sector Management. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 0951-3558 .- 1758-6666. ; 37:1, s. 1-19
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study aims to examine the diffusion and implementation of trust-based management (TBM) in Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden). TBM is a novel “anti-New Public Management (NPM)” innovation within the realm of New Public Governance (NPG), which asserts that leadership and control in public sector organizations should be practiced and designed based on the assumption that civil servants and employees in general are trustworthy. The research questions are as follows: How has TBM been diffused and implemented in Scandinavia? To what extent can the institutional logics framework increase understanding of similarities and differences between the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden)?Design/methodology/approachThe authors designed and submitted surveys to the municipal directors of the three Scandinavian municipal populations, thereby producing a unique cross-country dataset on TBM diffusion and implementation in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden).FindingsThe authors' study shows that TBM has diffused widely among Scandinavian municipalities and has developed into a municipal-level concept across policy fields and sectors. While Denmark stands out as an earlier and more decisive TBM reformer, the results show that similarities in the diffusion and implementation of TBM in Scandinavian countries are more apparent than the differences.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the public management literature and research on anti-NPM and NPG concepts by being the first wide-scale empirical study of TBM diffusion and implementation in the Scandinavian municipal sectors.
|
|
| 4. |
- Siverbo, Sven, 1970-
(author)
-
The impact of management controls on public managers’ well-being
- 2023
-
In: Financial Accountability and Management. - : Wiley. - 0267-4424 .- 1468-0408. ; 39:1, s. 60-80
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Public sector managers are increasingly subject to management controls. In this study, we determine how management controls in public sector organizations influence managers’ well-being at work. Based on central beliefs and concepts in the management control literature and self-determination theory, we develop, test, and confirm a theoretical model predicting that positive effects of management controls on public managers’ well-being are explained by increased role clarity and negative effects by increased control burden, which in turn affects managers’ self-determination. The model was tested through web survey responses from 1,029 managers from ten Swedish local government organizations. Our research contributes to the literature on well-being effects of management controls by specifying how positive and negative effects on managers’ well-being occur.
|
|
| 5. |
- Siverbo, Sven, 1970-
(author)
-
Verbal rewards and public managers' autonomous motivation
- 2023
-
In: Financial Accountability and Management. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0267-4424 .- 1468-0408. ; 39:3, s. 534-553
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this paper is to examine how verbal rewards (praise) from superior public managers influence subordinate public managers' work motivation coming from experiencing work tasks as important, exciting, interesting, and fun, so-called autonomous motivation. We use self-determination theory (SDT) to theorize that depending on how they are provided, verbal rewards can enhance or undermine autonomous motivation. This is because different verbal reward practices have different effects on subordinate public managers' basic psychological needs, which in turn influences their autonomous motivation. Based on a cross-sectional survey completed by 331 public managers in four Swedish local government organizations, we find that verbal rewards that are performance-contingent and provided frequently undermine public managers' autonomous motivation. Verbal rewards enhance autonomous motivation when they are based on skills and results. Our study contributes to the public management literature discussing the applicability of rewards in public sector organizations where autonomous motivation is crucial for performance. It contributes to practice by suggesting that superior managers who provide skills/result-based verbal rewards are more likely to enhance than undermine the autonomous motivation of subordinates. In support of SDT, the overall conclusion is that the impact of verbal rewards on public managers' autonomous motivation is contingent on how verbal rewards are provided by superiors. However, our results should be interpreted with some caution due to the circumstance that cross-sectional survey research can only ensure associations between constructs and not causality.
|
|
