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Coping with Complex Leadership Roles: The Problematic Redefinition of Government‐owned Enterprises
Author(s) -
Christensen Tom,
LÆGreid Per
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.313
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-9299
pISSN - 0033-3298
DOI - 10.1111/j.0033-3298.2003.00372.x
Subject(s) - elite , corporatization , politics , transformative learning , devolution (biology) , central government , autonomy , public administration , public relations , political science , sociology , economic system , political economy , local government , economics , pedagogy , anthropology , law , human evolution
Inspired by New Public Management, many countries have changed their central public apparatus from an integrated to a more segregated structural model. A central element in this process is structural devolution and the establishment of new or reorganized state‐owned companies with increased business autonomy and new formal control systems. This paper focuses on how this development, as exemplified by the case of Norway, is affecting the role of central executive political and administrative leaders. The study, based on elite interviews, shows that corporatization has made the role of central leaders more complex and ambiguous and undermined traditional political control. We interpret this development from a transformative perspective, underlining how structural devolution is filtered through the dynamic context of environmental pressure and internal structural and cultural factors; in addition, experiences from New Zealand are used to contrast the Norwegian case.