Better, Faster, Stronger

Abstract

The 1990s have been a period of intense reanalysis of what government does and of how it does it. As a result, public-sector organizations at the national, state, and local level are changing the way they do business to enhance performance, improve productivity, and champion customer service. This research analyzes the effects of reinventing government on selected public agencies. In general, survey respondents think reinvention activities have contributed to the development of more productive, more cost-conscious organizations offering enhanced services and improved performance. Regression results suggest that a number of different factors contribute to that thinking. These factors include the reasons that the governmental unit undertook reinvention activities and the internal and external actors involved in designing the reinvention.

Bridging the Void: How Institutional Entrepreneurship Can Overcome Institutional Voids in Indian Public Organisations

“…In this study, we bridge the gap between these two areas by focusing on public entrepreneurship, which "contributes to building a public organisation or increasing its ability to deliver services and create value" (Bernier and Hafsi, 2007: 489). Unlike private entrepreneurs' pursuit of profit and risk-taking, the goal of public entrepreneurship is to address public interest (Bellone and Goerl, 1992;Dobel 1995;Durst and Newell 1999;Teske and Schneider, 1994). We draw on the concepts of institutional work to examine entrepreneurship in public services in India.…”