Explaining variation in organizational change
Subtitle: the reform of human resource management in the European Commission and the OECD
By: Christoph Knill & Tim Balint
Contributors: Balint, Tim
Series: IBEI working papers -- 2008/13; Working papers (Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals) -- 2008/13.
Publisher: Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Barcelona
Language: eng
Number of pages: 23
Subjects: Management; Organizational change; Personnel management; Public administration; European Commission; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Description: Abstract: In this article we investigate the reforms of human resource management in the European Commission and the OECD by analysing comparatively to what extent both organizations have adjusted their respective structures towards the ideal type of the so-called new public management (NPM). The empirical findings show that reforms towards NPM are more pronounced in the Commission than in the OECD. These findings are surprising for two reasons: first, it seems paradoxical that the OECD as central promoter of NPM at the international level lags behind the global trend when it comes to reforming its own structures. Second, this result is in contradiction to theoretical expectations, as they can be derived from theories of institutional isomorphism. Nevertheless, to account for the surprising results, it is necessary to modify and complement existing theories especially with regard to the scope conditions of their causal mechanisms.
Notes: "February 2008"--T.p. verso.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 21-23).