Abstract
AbstractA strong public policy focus on high performance means that utilizing management knowledge effectively is at a premium for UK public service organizations. This study empirically examined two English public agencies to explore the inter‐sectoral transfer of a strategic management model originally developed in the private sector – absorptive capacity – which is one way of conceptualizing an organizational competence in such knowledge mobilization. Two theoretical contributions are made. First, a new absorptive capacity framework for public service organizations is developed which recognizes the participation of public agency project teams during an innovation process proceeding over time with phases of co‐creation, testing, metamorphosis and diffusion. Second, our novel framework modifies an early influential model of absorptive capacity. Counter to this model, we argue that realized absorptive capacity requires agency from skilled and embedded actors to turn ‘curbing routines’ into ‘enabling routines’ in all four stages. Project (middle) managers have flexibility in their roles to seize episodic moments of opportunity to innovate and achieve service delivery goals, and to build absorptive capacity capability. Absorptive capacity capability develops organically over time. Future research directions are discussed.
Highlights
A major debate in public management literature is whether strategic management models developed in the private firm can be transposed (Bryson, Berry and Yang, 2010) – or adapted (Vining, 2011) – to public agencies
Variable impact was found in Middle England Police and Middle England Local Education Partnership (LEP), assessed in different ways
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) identifies vehicles of interest to the police, and the data is used as evidence in solving crimes by tracking the location and movement of vehicles and people
Summary
A major debate in public management literature is whether strategic management models developed in the private firm can be transposed (Bryson, Berry and Yang, 2010) – or adapted (Vining, 2011) – to public agencies. Bryson, Berry and Yang (2010) call for more research from a knowledge-based perspective in public agencies, to align the outside environment with internal practices. They emphasize the resource-based view (RBV), which sees the organization’s capacity to manage its intangible assets, including knowledge, as a ‘core competence’ (Barney, 1991; Barney and Clark, 2007; Bryson, Ackermann and Eden, 2007). They emphasize the resource-based view (RBV), which sees the organization’s capacity to manage its intangible assets, including knowledge, as a ‘core competence’ (Barney, 1991; Barney and Clark, 2007; Bryson, Ackermann and Eden, 2007). Harvey et al (2010b) argue that absorptive capacity (AC) research is pressing and relevant within public agencies, because it understands its performance level as influenced by competences in how the organization acquires, assimilates, transforms and exploits knowledge (Zahra and George, 2002)
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