Ventures in public value management: introduction to the symposium

Abstract

This essay reviews the development of public value management, tracing its rise from relative obscurity in the 1990s to the global attention it receives today. We also introduce the accompanying essays in this symposium which aim to spur further development in the years to come. We review the main tenets of public value management and highlight the key debates in the literature, discussing the mandate of public managers visa -vis politicians, the mobilization of 'the public', the framing of strategic challenges and the distinctiveness of value creation in the public domain. The five accompanying essays deal with these debates, but also break new ground by addressing fresh questions.

Strategy in the Public and Private Sectors: Similarities, Differences and Changes

“…First foreshadowed by Allison (1986) (see also (Heymann 1987)), developed and conceived largely by Moore (1995Moore ( , 2013 it is now being taken up by increasing numbers of practitioners and scholars (O'Flynn 2007;Alford and O'Flynn 2009;Benington and Moore 2011;Bryson et al 2014Bryson et al , 2015Talbot 2009;Alford et al 2017;Mulgan 2008;Barzelay and Campbell 2003;Llewellyn and Tappin 2003;Poister 2010;Meier et al 2007;Weinberg and Leeman 2013). This framework acknowledges both the public and "business" imperatives that government organizations face.…”

Public administration, public leadership and the construction of public value in the age of the algorithm and ‘big data’

“…Alford et al () recognize that in Moore's account building legitimizing constituencies is a necessary part of strategic public management and can include ‘lawmakers, interest groups, regulators, clients and … the general public’. Creating the authorizing environment means building a public demand for action.…”

“…The article adopts a multi‐theoretical approach to the research questions identified. It makes use of Alford and Head's recent () assessments of ‘wicked problems’. Were the article to focus on domain‐specific policy challenges, for example in respect of social media, Kingdon's multiple streams analysis and Sabatier's advocacy coalition framework might have been utilized to examine developments.…”

How can network leaders promote public value through soft metagovernance?

“…The operating capacity is therefore essential to the actual creation of public value. As Alford et al (, p. 591) note, ‘it is no good articulating a public value proposition and getting support for its execution if the public manager [or metagovernor] cannot muster the organizational capacity required to deliver on it’. So metagovernors need to ‘manage down’ within their own organizations to align resources, people and processes to the task.…”

“…The concept of public value has gained momentum in scholarly and managerial debates (Alford et al ). It describes the value that an organization or network contributes to society.…”