Title: Making crisis a momentum for change within public services

Authors: Claude Rochet

Addresses: Institut de Management Public, Universite Paul Cezanne, Aix-Marseille III, France; LAREQUOI, Universite de Versailles, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France

Abstract: The public sector is traditionally presented as reluctant to change. Using an adaptive systems framework and following a grounded theorising approach, I analyse four cases of successful organisational transformation through the management of crises as a momentum for change. Crises help only if they are managed as such a momentum. My conclusion is that appropriate crisis management may lead to a performing organisation. I stress the key success factors for a successful management of crisis as a momentum for change: learning is the key point and public managers appear to have a fair ability to learn.

Keywords: organisational change; resilience; strategic management; public services; public sector; adaptive systems; organisational transformation; crisis management; performance management; learning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPSPM.2007.013834

International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, 2007 Vol.1 No.1, pp.5 - 28

Published online: 30 May 2007 *

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