@article{JeannotVandeWalleHammerschmid, author = {Jeannot, Gilles and Van de Walle, Steven and Hammerschmid, Gerhard}, title = {Homogeneous National Management Policies or Autonomous Choices by Administrative units?}, series = {Public Performance and Management Review}, volume = {41}, journal = {Public Performance and Management Review}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1080/15309576.2018.1442359}, pages = {497 -- 518}, abstract = {This article presents an original research on the use of management tools in central government departments and agencies in 16 European countries. It is based on a survey conducted among senior managers (n = 5,998). The analysis shows that the use of management tools results from a combination of top-down implementation of a list of management tools at the national level, combined with a bottom-up independent selection of tools by administrative units. The variation in management tool use depends on the type of tool. While the uses of a HRM tool, such as performance-related pay, or a financial tool, such as risk management, are heavily influenced by national public management policies, service quality-type tools, such as user surveys or quality management systems, tend to be chosen in a more autonomous manner by different administrative units, especially agencies.}, language = {en} } @article{HammerschmidVandeWalleAndrewsetal., author = {Hammerschmid, Gerhard and Van de Walle, Steven and Andrews, Rhys and Mostafa, Ahmed}, title = {New Public Management Reforms in Europe and their Effects: Findings from a 20-Country Top Executive Survey}, series = {International Review of Administrative Sciences}, journal = {International Review of Administrative Sciences}, doi = {10.1177/0020852317751632}, pages = {20}, abstract = {This article assesses the impact of New Public Management (NPM)-style reforms in European countries as perceived by top public sector officials. Using data from an executive survey conducted in 20 European countries, we look at the relationship between five key NPM reforms (downsizing, agencification, contracting out, customer orientation and flexible employment practices) and four dimensions of public sector performance: cost efficiency, service quality, policy coherence and coordination, and equal access to services. Structural equation modelling reveals that treating service users as customers and flexible employment are positively related to improvements on all four dimensions of performance. Contracting out and downsizing are both positively related to improved efficiency, but downsizing is also associated with worse service quality. The creation of autonomous agencies is unrelated to performance. This suggests that policy-makers seeking to modernize the public sector should prioritize managerial reforms within public organizations over structural transformations.}, language = {en} }