Danila Scarozza

Leading Organisational Changes in Public Sector Building Blocks in Understanding Boards Behaviour

Purpose – Starting from public and corporate governance literature, the chapter aims to evidence the opportunity in exploring board of directors in public organisations, where the focus is on a behavioural perspective.Design/methodology/approach – Presenting two levels of analysis: (a) the relationship between the board and ‘external’ stakeholders, and (b) the relationship between the board and managers, a framework is proposed evidencing which factors (variables, constructs and concepts) logically should be considered as part of the explanation of boards’ role in public organisations’ innovation.Findings – The chapter provides support for a board model in public governance, evidencing both the opportunity to assume a multi-paradigm perspective and the existing similarities and differences between boards in public and corporate governance approach. It is possible, for example, to empirically apply the framework both to different national context and to different levels of public organisations.Originality/value of chapter – The chapter presents theoretical perspectives on governance research, and both some pioneer studies in public sector research and some of the major contribution in corporate governance studies. All of them have been put together, introducing a new stream of research in the debate on the micro (organisational) level of governance in public sector.

The Movement Beyond the New Public Management: Public Governance Practices in Italian Public Organisations

Purpose – The chapter aims to analyse specific management tools which can be used to facilitate public governance practices, such as the process of stakeholder involvement.Methodology/approach – By means of both a theoretical discussion and an empirical research conducted on Italian local public utilities (LPUs), the chapter attempts to understand: (a) the degree of application of quality management, sustainability mechanisms and stakeholders involvement; (b) the correlation between the application of these tools stakeholder involvement processes.Findings – Not all the tools imported from the private sector have the same ‘attitudes’ for stakeholder involvement evidencing a gap of Italian LPUs in quality management systems in ensuring that stakeholders and their contribution to product value is considered. These results give support to the necessity to move beyond New Public Management. Therefore, governance becomes a new process for developing and implementing public policies: this requires original mechanisms of coordination among institutional actors, public authorities and stakeholders.Research limitations/implications – This study gives rise to new research path in LPUs corporate governance research. Looking for the creation of a series of suppositions and considerations as to why LPUs actively venture into the practice of good corporate governance trough stakeholder involvement. Accordingly, it is necessary to invest in the debate on the tasks of the board of directors.Originality/value of paper – This study gives a new path of research, asking board of directors to move toward a stakeholder-conscious governance model, with broader input and ongoing engagement, as an important aspect for a better corporate governance in public administrations.

A Behavioral Perspective for Governing Bodies: Processes and Conflicts in Public Organizations

Abstract This article provides a framework and investigates how conflicts in the boardroom may be different from other conflicts in public decision-making groups. Five distinct perspectives are adopted in the conceptual framework: the agency, stakeholder, and board strategic involvement perspectives for the first level of analysis, and the administrative behavior and public value perspectives for the second one. The study contributes to advancing research on the processes and the behavioral dimensions that influence the actions and the decisions of public boards. The study’s results suggest that the elements that provide a fundamental role to a governing board in leading public organizations are relationships with both the external and the internal actors and conditions that enable the board’s decision-making processes to carry out its own tasks effectively.

A Bibliometric Study of the Literature on Technological Innovation: An Analysis of 60 International Academic Journals

This paper aims to contribute to the debate on technological innovation, organization and work. Although technological innovation remained a debated topic in the academic literature during the past years, its implications for organizational processes seem still not sufficiently theorized and empirically investigated. By using two complementary journals’ rankings a search in the ISI Web of Science platform from 1985 through 2013 was performed. To analyze the 998 scientific retrieved contributions a bibliometric analysis has been conducted, adopting also Social Network Analysis tools. Our results reveal a significant growth of the technological innovation literature over the investigated period, the multidisciplinarity of the field and, particularly, the relevance of management and business and economics contributions. Overall, this study offers a broad overview of the literature on technological innovation and emphasizes the opportunity to investigate the role of technological innovation within the organizational life.

Advancing Public Governance Research: Individual and Collective Dynamics in and Around the Boardroom

Abstract Purpose In recent years, increasing scholarly attention has been directed towards the field of governing bodies research. However, little attention has been paid to the behavioural perspective on studying public boards. Aiming to fulfil this gap this paper offers a review of the international literature addressing boards behaviour within the unique organizational setting of public sector. Design/methodology/approach Considering as behavioural studies those publications focusing on actors, processes, decision-making, relationships and interaction inside and outside the boardroom, 91 papers were analysed. Adopting the framework provided by Huse (2007), the papers are classified following four behavioural dimensions/blocks which are crucial to understand board dynamics: board members, interactions, structures and leadership, decision-making culture. Findings The literature review shows the increasing production – in the last years – on the theoretical issues related to the behavioural perspective in public governance literature. The most relevant part of these contributions addresses the theoretical dimensions of the board member’s characteristics and of structural leadership. Originality/value of the chapter The manuscript reveals the need to adopt a more organizational approach for studying the behavioural categories and levels of analysis proposed by public governance literature. Moreover, the article evidences some possible directions for future research that might further contribute to enrich the ‘behavioural governance perspective’ in public organizations.

Implementing Risk Management in the Italian Public Sector: Hybridization between Old and New Practices

ABSTRACT Though Risk Management (RM) entered the public sector, the way RM is introduced within organizations is not empirically explored. Analyzing the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) case study through the theoretical lens of institutional perspective, the paper responds to the call for more organizational studies of RM: nature and dynamics of RM are investigated, offering a valid contribution to the debate on practice of public management related to work practices and knowledge systems. The results show that RM is now embedded in ISTAT activities, processes, culture and individual behaviors, confirming the opportunity to improve both organizational performance and learning.

The Value of ICT Applications: Linking Performance, Accountability and Transparency in Public Administrations

Beginning in 2009, the Italian legislation proposed a convergent action of “programming” “evaluation” and “transparency” to be applied to the administrative processes. Within this framework, the ICT emerges as a key element in order to put the Reform into practice supporting administrations both in measuring and evaluating performance, and in increasing transparency and accountability. In order to understand the expected effects of ICT use on these relevant aspects of the administrative activities and, more in general, to give an interpretation of the role of the ICT in the reform process, the paper presents the results of a content analysis of 198 documents produced by public organizations for whom the Reform was of immediate application.

Exploring Board Conflicts in Public Organizations: Sources, Nature, and Effects

Abstract Purpose The study aims to contribute to the literature on board behavior and performance in public sector organizations, by investigating conflicts as a fundamental and inevitable part of interactions between board members. Despite impressive advances in studying the behavioral dimensions of governing bodies, several gaps still remain in our knowledge, especially for public sector boards. These face specific challenges related to multiple, conflicting, and ambiguous goals. Methodology/approach Earlier studies identified four different types of conflict (affective, cognitive, interest, and authority conflicts). These were used to guide a systematic literature review considering the source and the nature of conflicts to classify and describe the state of knowledge on the topic. Findings Most academic contributions emphasized cognitive and interest conflicts, suggesting that solving them was essential to improve board performance and enable boards to create value. The results suggest the utility of broadening the perspective of the governing board role, moving beyond agency and institutional theory, taking into consideration resource dependence theory as an alternative perspective to investigate board roles and task expectations. Originality/value Understanding conflicts within public boards is an interesting challenge from several perspectives. First, it provides a deep look inside board decision-making processes using a behavioral perspective. Second, analyzing the nature and sources of conflict places boards in a better position to address complex political issues. Finally, resolving conflicts may lead boards to channel their energies into collaborative activities that stimulate best practices, facilitate mutual awareness, and generate commitment to cooperation inside and outside the boardroom.