Between patronage and good governance: organizational arrangements in (local) public appointment processes

This article investigates whether certain organizational arrangements in (local) public appointment processes could encourage the use of appointments as a tool of good governance rather than as a tool of patronage. Specifically, we studied the role of six organizational arrangements in 10 case studies of intra- and inter-organizational public appointment processes held in Italian local government. We found that good governance (in terms of perception of overall integrity and fairness) was found in processes of public appointments where there was independent scrutiny, and when the process involved local councillors and/or external stakeholders – that is, actors beyond those with the formal power to appoint. In these cases, making appointments was seen as a tool of good governance rather than of patronage. These organizational arrangements were more relevant than other ones such as the transparency of public advertisements, job descriptions and educational/professional requirements, and media and public awareness. The article describes the relevant literature and the research study, and discusses implications for research, policy and management

Performance Information in Politics: How Framing, Format, and Rhetoric Matter for Politicians’ Preferences

Performance information research has grown rapidly over the last decade with much research emphasizing the importance of how information is framed, presented, and communicated by using a distinct rhetorical appeal. In this study, we examine how the framing, format, and rhetoric of performance information influence preferences among elected politicians. We study the direct effects of how information is presented. We also argue that performance information is always a mixture of different frames, formats, and rhetorical appeals and that it is therefore important to account for interaction effects. Using a large-scale survey experiment with responses from 1,406 Italian local politicians, we find that framing and ethos-based rhetoric affect politicians’ responses to performance information. We also find that the format of presentation is important in several ways. Thus, politicians are more likely to support the status quo when information is presented graphically rather than textually, and a graphical format furthermore reduces the impact of ethos-based rhetoric and – to a lesser extent – the impact of equivalence framing

Facilitating co-production in public services: management implications from a systematic literature review

Drawing on the results of a systematic literature review of empirical studies, this paper sheds light on six broad factors that facilitate the initiation and implementation of co-production in public services. The factors are classified into two overarching categories: organizational factors, including organizational arrangements, professional roles, and managerial tools; and procedural factors, including participant recruitment, participant preparation, and process design. For each set of factors, the paper provides a series of management implications. It concludes with additional observations for practice. Unfortunately, ‘one-size-fits-all’ does not apply to co-production. Policy-makers and public managers need use their knowledge, skills, and judgment to design, activate, and implement co-production activities. The paper presents three organizational factors (organizational arrangements, professional roles, and managerial tools) and three procedural factors (participant recruitment, participant preparation, and process design) that facilitate the initiation and implementation of co-production. Moreover, for each set of factors, the paper provides an important series of management implications that offer guidance to those who are using, or who wish to use, co-production in their organizations. Thus, this paper provides evidence-driven advice that can assist public managers and policy makers looking for ways to improve co-production in public services

Task force IRSPM A&A SIG, CIGAR Network, EGPA PSG XII

The IPSAS CP asks the following questions in its REQUEST FOR COMMENTS. The responses prepared by the Task Force IRSPM A&A SIG, CIGAR Network and EGPA PSG XII are presented hereafter. The IRSPM A&A SIG, CIGAR Network and EGPA PSG XII are three research networks that focus on Public Sector Accounting. The Task Force is made up of 16 researchers from these networks. The responses being presented are based on an analysis of the Consultation Paper, the IPSASB Conceptual Framework, relevant IPSAS, and various published research papers on the subject. Following various meetings and discussions, the members of the Task Force have reached the following common conclusions and suggestions. The views expressed in this document represent those of the members of the Task Force and not of the whole research community represented by the networks, and neither of the Institutions/Universities with which they are affiliated

Gli enti locali tra crisi e spending review: quale ruolo per il non-profit? [Local authorities between crisis and spending review: what role for non-profit sector?]

Crisi economico finanziaria e enti locali. Spending review: qualificare la spesa pubblica e ridurre l'ammontare: la situazione in Italia. Nuovi modelli per perseguire l'interesse pubblico: relazione tra enti locali e non profit. Verso il sistema del valore condiviso: implicazioni attuative per gli enti locali. The context of crisis requires to all types of organizations to introduce reforms and innovations in order to respond more effectively to the changes that are taking place. We can observe different effects from several perspectives. From an economic point of view, the crisis has created consequences on access to credit, on monetary policy, on industrial production, on the level of employment, and on the functioning of financial markets. From a political point of view, decision-making has been modified and made more centralized, more politicized and more visible to the public domain. From a social point of view, the crisis generated lower level of cohesion and increased the level of social problems in different forms: higher unemployment, lower family income, decrease in the degree of trust and the propensity to consume, growing precariousness and instability in labour and social relations. Lastly, from the public sector point of view, we can identify at least two important phenomena: 1) the crisis is changing the trajectory of the ongoing reforms; 2) the crisis has increased the level of financial stress that local governments have to face. In this perspective, the article analyses what role and what relationships can be established in the wake of the crisis between local governments and non-profit sector. In order to answer to this issue, the article presents and discusses several possible models through a matrix 2x2 that considers two dimensions: the level of financial stress that local governments face; and the level of managerial capabilities of the non-profit sector

Control Patterns in Contracting-Out Relationships: It Matters What You Do, Not Who You Are

The contracting-out of public services has often been accompanied by a strong academic focus on the emergence of new governance forms, and a general neglect of the processes and practices through which contracted-out services are controlled and monitored. To fill this gap, we draw on contracting-out and inter-organizational control literatures to explore the adoption of control mechanisms for public service provision at the municipal level and the variables that can explain their choice. Our results, based on a survey of Italian municipalities, show that in the presence of contracting-out, market-, hierarchy- and trust-based controls display different intensities, can co-exist and are explained by different variables. Service characteristics are more effective in explaining market- and hierarchy-based controls than relationship characteristics. Trust-based controls are the most widespread, but cannot be explained by the variables traditionally identified in contracting-out and inter-organizational control studies

New development: Covid-19 and its publics—implications for strategic management and democracy

This article discusses the concept of ‘publics’ and provides a case example related to Covid-19 to show the importance of strategically managing with and for publics. Specifically, the publics of local governance in lockdown are identified from two focus groups with local leaders conducted in Lombardy, Italy. Identifying, designing and visualizing publics is a key democratic and strategic choice with implications on the public values enacted. Impact Early results have shown that some individuals and organizations were affected disproportionately by the impacts of Covid-19, both for the better (for example higher profits for technology companies) and for the worse (for example higher mortality rates in BAME populations). By managing with and for publics, public managers and politicians could take more equitable decisions by visualizing trade-offs in public values and co-create better strategies by taking the perspective of those experiencing the effects of public decisions and public services