The dangers of internationalization and “one‐size‐fits‐all” in public sector management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework to explain the failure in public management of wholesale policy transfer from well developed to developing economies.Design/methodology/approach – The paper relies extensively on organizational surveys and specialized interviews in both jurisdictions, as well as on a review of government (primary) and other institutional documents. It is qualitative in nature.Findings – The paper reveals that the context in which public sector reform policies are implemented matters. In short, the environment (with structural and contextual variables) is an essential element in the success of policies. It highlights important factors such as culture, institutional dynamism, the role of the external actors, etc. as issues that must be carefully looked at in the development and implementation of reform policies.Research limitations/implications – The number of cases needs to be expanded to further confirm the results. Furthermore, before it is possibl...

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