Public Value Management

TLDR

Traditional public administration and new public management are ill‑suited to networked governance, whereas public value management relies on dialogue and exchange inherent to such networks. The article seeks to define the management style best suited to networked governance, emphasizing the centrality of building successful relationships. Public value management’s effectiveness stems from motivating actors through network participation and mutual respect rather than solely through rules or incentives.

Abstract

The aim of this article is to clarify the nature of the management style most suited to the emergence of networked governance. The paradigms of traditional public administration and new public management sit uncomfortably with networked governance. In contrast, it is argued the public value management paradigm bases its practice in the systems of dialogue and exchange that characterize networked governance. Ultimately, the strength of public value management is seen to rest on its ability to point to a motivational force that does not solely rely on rules or incentives to drive public service practice and reform. People are, it suggests, motivated by their involvement in networks and partnerships, that is, their relationships with others formed in the context of mutual respect and shared learning. Building successful relationships is the key to networked governance and the core objective of the management needed to support it.