Hammerschmid, G, Van de Walle, S, Andrews, R et al. (1 more author) (2019) New Public Management reforms in Europe and their effects: findings from a 20-country top executive survey. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 85 (3). pp. 399-418. ISSN 0020-8523
Abstract
This article assesses the impact of New Public Management (NPM)-style reforms in European countries as perceived by top public sector officials. Using data from an executive survey conducted in 20 European countries, we look at the relationship between five key NPM reforms (downsizing, agencification, contracting out, customer orientation and flexible employment practices) and four dimensions of public sector performance: cost efficiency, service quality, policy coherence and coordination, and equal access to services. Structural equation modelling reveals that treating service users as customers and flexible employment are positively related to improvements on all four dimensions of performance. Contracting out and downsizing are both positively related to improved efficiency, but downsizing is also associated with worse service quality. The creation of autonomous agencies is unrelated to performance. This suggests that policy-makers seeking to modernize the public sector should prioritize managerial reforms within public organizations over structural transformations.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) The Author(s) 2018. Hammerschmid, G, Van de Walle, S, Andrews, R et al. New Public Management reforms in Europe and their effects: findings from a 20-country top executive survey. International Review of Administrative Sciences. ISSN 0020-8523. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications. |
Keywords: | agencification; contracting out; downsizing; New Public Management; performance; public sector reform; top officials |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Business (Leeds) > Management Division (LUBS) (Leeds) > Management Division Organizational Behaviour (LUBS) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 10 Apr 2019 10:28 |
Last Modified: | 02 Sep 2019 09:00 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/0020852317751632 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:144773 |