Collaborative Public Management Research Articles

Advancing Public Organizations in Palestine through Collaborative Public Management Programs: An Empirical Investigation

<p>Meningkatkan institusi publik di Palestina memerlukan kolaborasi, dimana program manajemen publik kolaboratif memainkan peran penting dalam menerapkan model perencanaan berkinerja tinggi di setiap organisasi. Artikel ini mengeksplorasi pendekatan ini secara menyeluruh, menjelaskan penerima manfaat dan pengaruhnya terhadap institusi. Studi ini mengacu pada tinjauan komprehensif literatur yang ada dan mengevaluasi studi sebelumnya untuk memberikan pemahaman yang berbeda tentang subjek tersebut. Penelitian ini berupaya mengevaluasi efektivitas program manajemen publik kolaboratif dalam mendorong perkembangan organisasi publik di Palestina. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dalam metodologi penelitian, kami bertujuan untuk memperjelas kerangka dan desain penelitian, menawarkan wawasan dalam membangun kembali dan mereformasi infrastruktur lembaga-lembaga publik di Palestina untuk kemajuan dan pembangunan, serta meningkatkan pemberian layanan. Temuan ini menggarisbawahi manfaat reformasi dan pengembangan sektor publik di Palestina, dengan tujuan mencapai efisiensi, keandalan, transparansi, dan peningkatan layanan, sekaligus menghilangkan korupsi dan nepotisme. Nilai penelitian ini terletak pada perlunya para peneliti mengatasi kesenjangan yang menghambat pembentukan program restorasi dan reformasi lembaga-lembaga publik Palestina. Dukungan harus diperluas untuk mendukung upaya mereka dalam menciptakan sektor kelembagaan yang bercirikan kredibilitas, keandalan, efisiensi, transparansi, dan layanan yang tepat, sekaligus meminimalkan penyuapan dan eksploitasi.<em></em></p>

The accountability of collaborative innovations in tax administration: A Dutch-US comparison

Analyzing a collaborative public management innovation in tax administration in the US and the Netherlands, this article investigates how differences in accountability systems affect senior public servants’ felt accountability, which itself appears critical to understanding why innovations evolve differently over time, even when sharing similar starting conditions. The article makes three key contributions. First, employing elite interviews, findings highlight how institutional factors critically shape public servants’ felt accountability, hereby expanding existing scholarship and its concentration on microlevel psychological determinants. Second, against expectations, findings illuminate that ministerial-based senior public servants may display a greater degree of autonomy in innovation design and implementation compared to agency-based officials. Third, the article demonstrates that the configuration of accountability systems can change significantly over time, thereby critically affecting the evolution of innovations. This underlines the relevance of taking a longitudinal research approach to analyzing senior public servants’ attitude to collaborative innovations.

Going separate ways: ex-post interdependence and the dissolution of collaborative relations

Interdependence is typically regarded as the cause of inter-organizational collaboration. But it is also a consequence. Collaboration itself creates new interdependence as partners become more entwined in one another’s operations and experience the vetoes, compromises, delays, and risks inherent in joint working. This paradox – mitigating one set of interdependencies by creating another – renders collaborative relations inherently unstable. Dissolution may occur if “ex-post” interdependence becomes more troublesome than the original “ex-ante” trigger for the partnership. We test this proposition through comparative analysis of 13 sustained, aborted, and dissolved inter-municipal cooperations in English local government. Ex-post interdependence was most pronounced in those partnerships that ended in dissolution, and informed the design of replacement arrangements. It was also a contributory factor in the abortive cases. But ex-post interdependence was minimized in the group of sustained collaborations by management actions that streamlined the coordination burden imposed by joint working. These findings have implications for partnership design, the collaborator’s skillset, and theories of collaborative public management.

Do Collaborative Management Actions Lead to Better Organizational Outcomes?

ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of managerial actions that promote inter-governmental collaboration on organizational performance at the sub-national level. Employing measures of organizational performance (i.e., fiscal performance and education in Colombia), I find that managerial actions that promote collaboration between organizations at the territorial level predict higher levels of organizational performance. Actions oriented toward collaboration enable bureaucrats to accomplish organizational goals by creating trust, increasing information exchange, and producing external collaborative structures. The article provides insights into the discussion about the role of managers in organizational dynamics in the public sector by showing new insights about how managers’ intentional efforts can improve public organizations’ outcomes. The research contributes to the literature on collaborative public management in a comparative context that focuses on sub-national governments.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it: When collaborative public management becomes collaborative excess

AbstractCollaboration is a commonly prescribed method of public service improvement. If collaboration fails, blame is typically ascribed to transaction costs, organizational inertia, or premature evaluation. However, drawing on a notable case of collaborative failure in England, we show that misdiagnosing public service problems as being of a type likely to be cured by joint working can also generate poor results, and belongs conceptually prior to many “go‐to” explanations of failure. Using stacked difference‐in‐difference estimators on 11 years of performance data relating to subnational tax administration, we show that inter‐municipal cooperation produced no cost or quality improvements in the administration of this public service, contrary to reformer expectations. Supplementary testing attributes this failure less to governance problems, inertia, or precipitate evaluation than to a basic lack of interdependence—the specific “problem” to which collaboration is the “solution”—between partnering councils. Having already exhausted scale economies internally, partners experienced no mutual reliance warranting their attempt to further economize through collaborative tax administration.

Analysis of Collaborative Actors in Regional Inflation Control Using Social Network Analysis

This study aimed to analyze the relationships among actors involved in the collaboration of the Regional Inflation Control Team (TPID) in Cilacap Regency and identify the main actors (key actors) who play a crucial role in its success. Social Network Analysis was used to examine the network among the actors focus on four factors namely; collaboration, communication, learning examples, and interactor relationships within TPID. The results showed that the following actors were considered important in the TPID collaboration for inflation control in Cilacap Regency, namely theRegent of Cilacap, the Secretary of Cilacap Regency, the Head of the Bank Indonesia Representative Office in Purwokerto, the Assistant for Economic and Development, as well as the Head of Trade, Economy, and SMEs Office. These individuals were often sought after and served as learning resources when TPID members encountered problems.
 Keywords: Inflation; Collaborative Public Management; Collaboration; Communication; Social Network

Thai SMEs’ Response in the Digital Economy Age: A Case Study of Community-Based Tourism Policy Implementation

The goals of this study were to identify factors affecting the responses of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the digital economy age, to examine the impact of policy implementation and stakeholders’ roles in the promotion of SMEs in the service sector of community-based tourism (CBT), to analyze the competitiveness of CBT, and to reveal the gap in SMEs’ service quality. The research design consisted of both qualitative and quantitative methods. It was found that independent variables, i.e., the strategic management, the decision-making process, the structural contingency, perception, and the SMEs’ potential, together in the multiple regression model, could predict dependent variables. Policy actors can be divided into three levels. Politicians are at the national policy level, high-level bureaucrats are at the implementation level, and stakeholders in the community are at the local level. Policy instruments include projects to support SMEs. Local-level actors play a role in promoting SMEs through collaborative public management. The competitiveness analysis of CBT can be divided into five forces: the rivalry of CBT, the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of suppliers, and the bargaining power of customers. Meanwhile, there are some problems in assuring service quality.

Developing the Theory of Pragmatic Public Management through Classic Grounded Theory Methodology

Abstract Public administration scholars argue that further research is needed to understand ordinary day-to-day behaviors of the traditional government agency in the era of inter-organization collaboration and governance, including reconciling traditional bureaucratic management theories with modern-day cross-sector governance theories. I answered this call by utilizing classic grounded theory methodology to discover and theorize the latent patterns of behavior of such an agency—the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry—via the perspective of public managers. The primary source of data was unstructured interviews with 55 district and assistant district managers from the Bureau, and two interviews with executive directors of statewide nonprofits that frequently engage with the districts. Following the systematic processes of classic grounded theory methodology, I developed a theory called the Theory of Pragmatic Public Management that consists of the core category of Mission-driven Management, its four sub-core categories (Balancing, Advocating Value, Adapting to Uncertainty, and Prudent Collaboration), and two contextual conditions in the form of organization dynamics that impact the system (Organizational Capacity and Organizational Discretion). The theory is a modifiable and transferable theory that entwines traditional intra-organization management and inter-organization collaborative public management behaviors and relies on pragmatist thought for additional conceptual integration. It informs existing public management research that focuses on the day-to-day behaviors of public managers and offers practical insights on public management in the contemporary era of governance.

Value Propositions in Public Collaborations: Regaining Organizational Focus Through Value Configurations

AbstractThere is consensus that complex problems of contemporary society call for public service collaborations. So‐called public service logic (PSL) focuses on joint value creation among a multiplicity of actors in service ecosystems. Despite recognizing various actors, this logic is essentially user‐centric, with the service user being the one realizing the value. Consequently, single and collaborating organizations cannot deliver value, only potential value, or so‐called value propositions. The elusive public service logic takes a network value configuration for granted and as a starting point. Drawing from two cases in Swedish healthcare, this paper argues that two other value configurations (chain and shop) are also relevant for understanding the development of value propositions – and that these may be related to both intra‐ and inter‐organizational processes. Theoretically, we conclude that just like public service logic, other collaborative public management theories need to recognize the importance of a multiplicity of value configurations and that these are often related to both intra‐ and inter‐organizational processes. We conclude that managers should not adopt the latest network trends without first reflecting on the relevance of existing internal processes.

Strengthening public financial management in the health sector: a qualitative case study from South Africa

IntroductionEffective public financial management (PFM) ensures public health funds are used to deliver services in the best way possible. Given the global call for universal health coverage, and concerns about...

A Multiple Full Mediating Effect in a PLS Hierarchical Component Model: Application to the Collaborative Public Management

The objective of this article was to determine the mediating effect of shared knowledge and organisational commitment in the relationship between organisational values and collaborative public management. Organisational values are also made up as a second-order construct consisting of other first order sub-dimensions such as authority, autonomy, conservatism, equality, harmony, and hierarchy. This research is based both on the Theory of Resources and Capacities and the theoretical perspective based on knowledge. The hypotheses proposed were supported with the use of structural equation models based on composites (PLS-SEM). The results show empirical evidence of a multiple fully mediating effect. The findings confirmed that organisational values do not have a significant direct positive impact on collaborative public management unless they are full mediated by shared knowledge and organisational commitment. In addition, this research framework is effective for improving public employees’ work efficiency and has practical implications for scholars, practitioners, and the authorities.

Le management public collaboratif

Le management public collaboratif

Implementation through collaborative crisis management and contingency planning: the case of dam failure in Sweden

This article builds on the field of collaborative crisis management, a mix of collaborative public management (CPM) and crisis management (CM). A field that often focuses on large-scale threats, sometimes labelled societal challenges, whose impacts are broad and cross-cutting and impacts many actors in society and drives demand for collaboration. In this study, we are interested in events that have broad and disastrous impacts on society, high degrees of uncertainty and potentially cascading effects and we study this through an in-depth case study of collaborative crisis management tasked with contingency planning for dam failure risk in a large river basin in central Sweden. We find that there was a lack in reach of the collaboration potentially limiting capacity and capacity building in ways that can limit preparedness and increase vulnerability in a crisis situation. We also found that contingency planning was treated as a demarcated project with a beginning and an end and not entirely as a continuous process. Both these observations go against the basic principles of contingency planning. Hence, there is a need to acknowledge and abridge varying levels of organisational capacity and build/maintain awareness within and between the organisations and actors involved. This study shows that the practice of cross-sector collaboration and contingency planning is both complex and complicated. The article has the potential to aid policy-makers in the field to pinpoint central aspects of cross-sector collaboration and contingency planning that needs to be addressed in order to mitigate limits to preparedness and increased vulnerability in a crisis situation. A deeper knowledge on these challenges and problems can also support progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal 9 (especially in relation to the aspect of building resilient infrastructure) through its empirical focus on infrastructure failure in terms of dam failure.

Efficiency and legitimacy in collaborative public management: Mapping inter‐local agreements in England using social network analysis

AbstractEnglish councils have long aspired to be ‘self‐sufficient’, providing services within single jurisdictions with limited inter‐local collaboration. However, by 2017 almost all local councils (97 per cent) participated in one or more frontline or back‐office ‘shared service’ involving 338 distinct partnerships. We analyse this new‐found enthusiasm for inter‐council collaboration by performing exploratory social network analysis on organizational and financial data for all 353 English councils. We examine factors predicting collaboration and the characteristics of the service networks that result, focusing on resource, organizational and political considerations. Propensity to collaborate was found to be unpredictable, but partner choice was rational, driven by geographical proximity and similarity in organizational and resource characteristics. We argue that, according to the institutional theory of organizations, both efficiency and legitimacy influenced these reform choices, and the risks of fashionable collaboration were mitigated by careful partner selection. We highlight implications for future quantitative research into symbolic (non‐instrumental) forms of collaboration.

Horizontal Collaboration in Crisis Management: An Experimental Study of the Duty Officer Function in Three Public Agencies

Lately, scholars have been engaging in studies on the crossroads between collaborative public management and crisis management, but our knowledge on how organizations work together with interorganizational goals in times of crisis or in relation to the threat that crises pose, is still limited. This study aims to illuminate how interagency horizontal collaboration plays out in practice. An interview study with twenty‐three Swedish duty officers in three organizations with critical tasks in the institutional crisis management system is carried out to unearth impediments to interagency collaboration that emerge when organizations from different policy subsystems engage in crisis collaboration. Empirically, the study contributes with new knowledge on how a crucial function in crisis management carries out work and deals with challenges. Theoretically, it contributes to the literature on crisis management collaboration by shedding light on processes of horizontal collaboration in the area of crisis management.

The Opportunities and Constraints to Collaboration in Public Sector Management

This article synthesizes current insights about the opportunities and constraints to collaborative public management. Despite the swath of research on collaboration there has been little attempt to present the opportunities and constraints in a single article that articulates both perspectives coherently. Drawing on an extensive literature review, the main arguments are that collaboration presents opportunities to maximize scarce resources and improve public services delivery. Yet, the difficulty in evaluating the outcomes of collaboration as well as accountability and power-sharing issues remain key constraints. The article concludes that public managers need to critically ponder both perspectives in making decisions.

Collaborative public management: coordinated value propositions among public service organizations

ABSTRACTDrawing from collaborative public management, this article seeks to contribute to public service logic by focusing on what precedes the public service user’s realization of value: the value proposition. A new care model for elderly people with multiple chronic diseases shows that coordinators with an inter-organizational mission, vertical and horizontal supporting structures, trust established through relationships, and recognition of service systems’ embeddedness in social systems are pivotal for the ability of public service organizations to develop coordinated value propositions. The contribution to policy and practice is an increased understanding of a coherent, rather than fragmented, welfare system for users/citizens.

Cross-boundary e-government systems: Determinants of performance

This study examines the performance of a cross-boundary e-government system. It draws from studies in the fields of e-government, collaborative public management, and information system success with a focus on inter-organizational information systems to develop a conceptual framework. This framework includes efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability as key performance measures; identifies technical, managerial, and inter-organizational factors for success; and develops hypotheses accordingly. Empirical investigation utilizes user-level data from an inter-organizational e-government system that provides integrated commerce and industry service. The results underscore the importance of management support, shared goals, and inter-agency trust in improving all three measures of performance. In addition, citizen-centric and innovative organizational culture enhances efficiency and accountability while administrative interdependence impacts effectiveness and accountability. The managerial and theoretical implications of these findings and future research opportunities are also explored.

How Practices of Managing Partnerships Contributes to the Value Creation—Public–Social Partnership Perspective

In this paper, the authors aim to answer the question of which model of public management—Public Administration, New Public Management, or Collaborative Public Management—is conducive to achieving better results in the public-social partnership. We understand public–social partnership as an activity undertaken in collaboration between organizations operating both in the public and social sectors. We also claim that Collaborative Public Management fosters sustainability in partnerships and should therefore be preferred in partnerships that are focused on delivering social services. In particular, we aim to find out how management practices that are used in the public-social partnership contribute to the co-creation of public value. The article brings together theoretical insights and empirical data. First, we integrate insights from different strands of literature. Next, empirical data are derived from two main sources: first, a specific case of the public-social partnership established by 18 institutions and organisations, followed by quantitative research that was conducted in 173 partnerships in Poland. Based on the presented case study, analysis of the survey results and in-depth interviews (IDIs) conducted with the 18 leaders of the organisations constituting the partnership, the observed pattern revealed the dominance of the Collaborative Public Management model contributing to the success of the partnership. It was also identified what actions were taken by the manager of the partnership in order to maintain links between the partners, build trust, and win their support and legitimisation in public space—all of which are necessary to create public value, which in turn contributes to the sustainability of the partnership.

The Scathingly Brilliant Scholarship of Lisa Blomgren Amsler (Formerly Bingham)

AbstractThis essay honors Lisa Blomgren Amsler (formerly Bingham) as an International Association for Conflict Management Jeffrey Z. Rubin Award recipient (2006). Lisa is the author or co‐author of over 125 path‐breaking publications that span the fields of dispute resolution, negotiation, conflict management, public administration, public policy, law, philosophy, and organizational studies, among many others. She the consummate example of “thinking DaVinci” —using lateral thinking, moving fluidly across contexts and perspectives, taking knowledge from one context and applying it to another, and fostering creativity and innovation in scholarship. This article focuses on Lisa's contributions in the areas of mandatory arbitration and the effects of mediation, justice, and justness in alternative dispute resolution and public participation, and collaborative public management. In addition, we highlight Lisa's impact outside the United States. We give Lisa the last word where she analyzes gaps in research and practice, as well as the future of the field.