A Cultural ecology of new public management
By: PILLAY, Soma
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ArticlePublisher: London, UK : Sage Publications, September 2008International review of administrative sciences 74, 3, p. 373-394Abstract: During the 1980s, new public management (NPM) evolved as a universal model of reform and governance in public sector management. However, in practice, there have been significant differences between countries that have been successful in NPM reform and those that have not. Drawing on institutional theory and frameworks of national culture, this article is aimed at exploring the applicability of NPM in a particular cultural context. In particular, the study analyses the applicability of NPM in the developing economy of South Africa. Using Hofstede's construct of national culture and institutional theory, social units within South Africa are explained. A cultural theory is presented whereby NPM is depicted as a culturally dependent strategy. The present study proposes a cultural theory that takes into account the differences that exist among the cultures of various countries. It is suggested that the successful implementation of NPM requires complementarities between the reform strategies that are adopted and the particular cultural characteristics of the country in which they are implemented
During the 1980s, new public management (NPM) evolved as a universal model of reform and governance in public sector management. However, in practice, there have been significant differences between countries that have been successful in NPM reform and those that have not. Drawing on institutional theory and frameworks of national culture, this article is aimed at exploring the applicability of NPM in a particular cultural context. In particular, the study analyses the applicability of NPM in the developing economy of South Africa. Using Hofstede's construct of national culture and institutional theory, social units within South Africa are explained. A cultural theory is presented whereby NPM is depicted as a culturally dependent strategy. The present study proposes a cultural theory that takes into account the differences that exist among the cultures of various countries. It is suggested that the successful implementation of NPM requires complementarities between the reform strategies that are adopted and the particular cultural characteristics of the country in which they are implemented
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