New perspectives on public governance: challenging issues and emerging solutions

Abstract

New perspectives on public governance: challenging issues and emerging solutions Public sector is worldwide constantly seeking for improving effectiveness and performance (Dunleavy and Hood, 1994; Hood, 1991; Noordegraaf and Abma, 2003).The aim of reaching these results is strictly related to the need of offering high-quality services to citizens and to be accountable for their actions (Hood, 1991).Main critics moved to the public sector, often reported by literature, practitioners and public employees, are related to bureaucracy, alienation, turnover, work to rule, low motivation, etc., leading to the failure under many points of view (economic, social, organizational, institutional) (Knott and Miller, 2006; Magone, 2011; Meyer et al., 2014; Rothstein and Downer, 2012).In order to overcome these hurdles, academics, policy makers and public managers are always in search for new solutions.These solutions should necessarily take into account two key concepts (Tomo, 2018).First, public organizations, as any other organization, rely on individuals and groups, whose actions are highly influenced by affective relations and by their motivation (e.g.Houston, 2000).Second, public organizations act in complex and high institutionalized contexts, where other public organizations, private organizations and citizens, at same time, represent a source of resources, interactions and pressures on their actions (Meek, 2010).To develop a new and more accountable model for public organizations, academics, policy makers and public managers should (re)discover the prominent role of leading, not only managing, people inside the (public) organizations toward an enhanced performance and a high-quality service for the public.The purpose of this special issue was to focus on new challenges and solutions within the public sector.More in detail, the question raised is related to those still unsolved issues that limit an effective administrative action within public organizations.We invited papers challenging the following areas:•

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