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Management by decree. Paradoxes in the reform of the Italian public sector

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  • Panozzo, Fabrizio

Abstract

A call for "better" governance of the public sphere informed by reliance on management and accounting expertise has recently arisen in connection with a variety of legislative initiatives enacted in Italy. This paper looks at the nature and role of this "reform", and in particular the call for the introduction of managerial accounting. It is argued that far from facilitating a comprehensive introduction of managerial vocabulary and knowledge into the public domain, the Italian legislative mechanism tends to hamper the expression of management and accounting as technically autonomous and coherent systems, while at the same time allowing more established audiences to deliberate on their nature and role. Although the reform was devised in terms of introducing the economic and the measurable into the domains of bureaucracy and formal compliance, its legal articulation seems to be informed by the very logic and ethos it is called upon to change.

Suggested Citation

  • Panozzo, Fabrizio, 2000. "Management by decree. Paradoxes in the reform of the Italian public sector," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 357-373, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:scaman:v:16:y:2000:i:4:p:357-373
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    Cited by:

    1. Davide Giacomini & Laura Rocca & Cristian Carini & Mario Mazzoleni, 2018. "Overcoming the Barriers to the Diffusion of Sustainability Reporting in Italian LGOs: Better Stick or Carrot?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Silvia Pilonato & Patrizio Monfardini, 2022. "Managerial reforms, institutional complexity and individuals: an empirical analysis of higher education," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 26(2), pages 365-387, June.
    3. Seri, Paolo & Bianchi, Annaflavia & Matteucci, Nicola, 2014. "Diffusion and usage of public e-services in Europe: An assessment of country level indicators and drivers," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 496-513.
    4. Päivikki Kuoppakangas, 2013. "Adopting the Municipal Enterprise Form in Finland: Core Dilemmas in the Transformation of Public Healthcare Organizations," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 155-165, June.
    5. Pipan, Tatiana & Czarniawska, Barbara, 2010. "How to construct an actor-network: Management accounting from idea to practice," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 243-251.
    6. Elena GORI & Silvia FISSI, 2013. "From Cash to Accrual Accounting: A Model to Evaluate the Performance of Public Museums," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(4), pages 519-541, October.
    7. Marika Arena & Kim Klarskov Jeppesen, 2016. "Practice Variation in Public Sector Internal Auditing: An Institutional Analysis," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(2), pages 319-345, June.
    8. Liguori, Mariannunziata & Steccolini, Ileana, 2018. "The power of language in legitimating public-sector reforms: When politicians “talk” accounting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 161-173.
    9. Enrico Bracci & Mouhcine Tallaki, 2013. "Socio-environmental reporting trends in the Italian local government: Thrive or wither?," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2013(2), pages 27-46.
    10. Nicola Mario Iacovino & Sara Barsanti & Lino Cinquini, 2017. "Public Organizations Between Old Public Administration, New Public Management and Public Governance: the Case of the Tuscany Region," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 61-82, March.
    11. Virginia Milone & Simone Pizzi, 2019. "Managing the Complexity through New Forms of Financial Reporting: A Multiple Case Study on Italian Public Museums," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-14, December.
    12. Mauro, Sara Giovanna & Cinquini, Lino & Pianezzi, Daniela, 2021. "New Public Management between reality and illusion: Analysing the validity of performance-based budgeting," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
    13. Giacomo Boesso & Fabrizio Cerbioni & Livia Mian, 2019. "La filantropia nelle fondazioni: determinismo manageriale vs solidarismo civico," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2019(1 suppl.), pages 121-144.
    14. Pilonato, Silvia & Monfardini, Patrizio, 2020. "Performance measurement systems in higher education: How levers of control reveal the ambiguities of reforms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(3).
    15. Vania Palmieri & Mario Turco, 2020. "Crisi e cambiamento delle istituzioni di contabilit? pubblica. Il caso delle amministrazioni centrali dello Stato," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2020(3), pages 87-112.
    16. Maria Lusiani, 2013. "Formal planning and the reshaping of public sector professional work," Working Papers 33, Venice School of Management - Department of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia.

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