Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to enhance understanding of the conceptualisation and operationalisation of public value in practice by applying Moore's (1995) strategic triangle as an analytical framework to study strategic management and management control practices in relation to public value.

Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses an interpretative longitudinal case study approach including qualitative methods of document studies and interviews between 2017 and 2019.

Findings - In the strategic triangle, the three nodes of authorising environment, public value creation and operational capacity are interdependent, and alignment is a necessity for a strategy to be successful. But this alignment is vulnerable. The findings suggest three propositions: (1) strategic alignment is vulnerable to management control practices having a strong focus on performance measurements, (2) strategic alignment is vulnerable to standardised management control practices and (3) strategic alignment is vulnerable to politically driven management control practices.

Originality/value - With the strategic triangle as a base, this paper tries to understand what kind of management control practices enable and/or constrain public value, as there has been a call for this kind of research. In this way it adds to earlier research on public value, to the growing interest in the strategic triangle as an analytical framework in analysing empirical material and to the request for more empirical studies on the subject. The strategic triangle also embraces political factors, government agendas and political leadership for which there has also been a call for more research.

A change of strategy from production orientation to customer orientation has been emphasized during the era of New Public Management (NPM). However, the NPM-logic has not made state agencies governable for outcomes, as focus ended up in output control in an inside-out approach (Almqvist et al. 2011). When central governments as well as citizens ask for outcomes, a strategic shift towards Public Value Management (Moore, 1995 2013) can be traced, indicating a move from inside-out to outside-in.

This paper presents a study of a tentative strategic shift within the Swedish central government. The empirical research is conducted within three state agencies in the transport sector: (i) Transport Analysis – responsible for providing decision-makers in the sphere of transport policy with relevant policy advice, and with a mission to include more qualitative effects in their assessment of the transport policy goals, (ii) The Swedish Transport Agency – responsible for drawing up and controlling regulations, and involved in a transition towards a system based control and (iii) The Swedish Transport Administration – responsible for national transport systems and with a new mission to act as societal developer, and therefore in need of going beyond the agency’s traditional production orientation. Thus, all three agencies are striving to adopt a new steering logic adjusting the organizations’ deliveries and competence in accordance with external public needs/values.

Evidence stems from longitudinal research projects based on interviews, observations, a survey and close reading of documents. By means of an interpretive approach (Alvesson & Sköldberg 2018) the empirical findings indicate an on-going process of change and a need to align strategy, organization and management control. The paper discusses if the outside-in perspective in line with Public Value Management is challenging the inside-out perspective in New Public Management or if a strategy renewal including both perspectives is called for.

As in many western world economies, recession and a large state budget deficit in the 1990-ties called for public sector reforms in Sweden. In line with New Public Management, ideas and models from private sector practice were introduced to increase efficiency and create satisfaction for the citizen as a customer or consumer. Two decades later in light of growing discontent and criticism of the administrative burden in state agencies, interest has been directed at alternative management control concepts in the public sector. The issue of public value and whether reforms in line with Public Value Management could be an alternative is an emerging research field.

Beyond the issue of meeting the demands of efficiency and a satisfying service delivery to the citizen as a customer, this paper deals with the diverging perceptions of value creation inherent in New Public Management and Public Value Management, how differences are expressed as well as the implications, with examples from the museum sector. Research is based on interpretations of formal documents issued by the government, observations and interviews with museum directors, responsible for managing museums within the conceptual and legal framework for state agencies.

Previous research has indicated that differences between New Public Management and Public Value Management are expressed in notions such as orientation, accountability and output measures. For museums, market orientation and identifying the customer as a museum visitor has shifted the focus from collection management and their educational mission to measuring volumes and customer-satisfaction, with a risk of promoting a short term perspective.

Public Value Management opens up for a wider circle of stakeholders to be involved in the continuous deliberation about public value to be co-created for the benefit of society. For museums, suggested co-creators and actors in the center of the strategic triangle would include sponsors and donators as well as the tourist industry, local communities, researchers and ICOM, the international museum branch organization. It would allow the role and participation of citizens to expand beyond the narrow definition of being customers. Finally, it would include future generations to be considered to ensure a sustainable cultural heritage. 

New Public Management has been integrated and deeply embedded in procedures, systems and control in governance. However, the findings of the study suggest that the diverging perceptions of value creation does not rule out that elements from both management concepts can be combined and complement each other. In the case of a museum, exhibitions and recreational offers, such as shops and restaurants, focus on creating value for the individual visitor and have the prerequisites for market-orientation in line with New Public Management. As regards conservation and educational activities the assignment could be regarded as co-creating public value in a long-term perspective, better suited for a management concept such as Public Value Management.

The study contributes to public value research by discussing different perceptions of value creation and deepening the understanding with empirical findings from the cultural sector.

In light of growing criticism towards New Public Management and its effects, interest has been directed at alternative management control concepts in the public sector. Whether Public Value Management is an alternative, possibly even a new paradigm, is being discussed on the research front. New Public Management and Public Value Management have evolved in parallel during the past decades. However, New Public Management has had greater impact, not least in governments’ control of state agencies.

The aim of the thesis is to gain an understanding of how ideas about the creation of public value diverge between New Public Management and Public Value Management. Beyond the research question of whether management control meets the demands of efficiency and customer-orientation as addressed in previous studies on reforms influenced by New Public Management, this thesis deals with the issue of creating value for the benefit of society. In a qualitative approach, the research is based on interpretations of documents, observations and interviews with examples from state agencies in the museum sector.

The result of the study shows that differences between New Public Management and Public Value Management are expressed in notions of accountability, results and proficiency. The time perspective differs, as do the means of financing and involvement of stakeholders. Reforms in line with Public Value Management call for the involvement or consideration of a larger circle of stakeholders, including future generations.

The findings of the thesis suggest that the diverging perceptions of value creation does not rule out that elements from both concepts can be combined and complement each other. The main issue is to take into account the contribution made to public value, considering whether the mandate is a long-term government assignment in line with Public Value Management or if it involves activities well suited to New Public Management with prerequisites for market orientation. The dissertation contributes to research in the field of management control in the public sector and the issue of public value.

Purpose — The aim of this paper is to investigate the nature of public value in the context of Swedish public museum management and how it is created.

Methodology/approach —The museum context is introduced, and assumptions and principles underpinning new public management (NPM) and public value management, along with examples of applicability and implementation in museums, are presented. Three key issues of convergence and divergence within the theoretical framework — strategic orientation, accountability and performance — are identified and introduced as a gateway to the empirical findings and the ensuing discussion.

Findings —NPM-oriented values have become part of the strategic orientation of the museum sector. The results of this study show that there exist at least three conceptions of museum management that are based on two different strategic orientations, that is, accessibility and conservation, which also point to different conceptions of value.

Social implications — Museum management can be seen as the management of tensions between conservation and accessibility and between customer orientation and stakeholder orientation towards the creation of museum value.

Originality/value of paper — The findings will assist museum management determine not only what value is but also for whom it is valuable, taking into account both present and future generations.