Market Orientation and Public Service Performance: New Public Management Gone Mad?

Richard M. WALKER*, Gene A. BREWER, George A. BOYNE, Claudia N. AVELLANEDA

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal PublicationsJournal Article (refereed)peer-review

109 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The backbone of theory of the market-based approach New Public Management is that market orientation improves public service performance. In this article, market orientation is operationalized through the dominant theoretical framework in the business literature: competitor orientation, customer orientation, and interfunctional coordination. Market orientation is examined from the vantage point of three stakeholder groups in English local government: citizens, public servants, and the central government's agent, the Audit Commission. Findings show that market orientation works best for enhancing citizen satisfaction with local services, but its impacts on the performance judgments of local managers or the Audit Commission are negligible. The conclusion discusses important implications of these findings for research, policy, and practice. 
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)707-717
Number of pages11
JournalPublic Administration Review
Volume71
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2011
Externally publishedYes

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