Public service management during the Covid-19 lockdown: a qualitative study

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates the managerial practices adopted during the Covid-19 emergency in Lombardy, Italy, amidst unforeseen changes in public service ecosystems. Using longitudinal data, we identify seven key practices adopted by public service managers to organize amidst disruption. Our findings underscore the public managers’ role in fostering adaptation, innovation, and coordination among ecosystem actors. Extending roles outlined by Osborne et al. as ‘appreciate, engage, and facilitate’, our study reveals how these roles were interpreted following logics of entrepreneurial stakeholder engagement, rather than citizen-centred services. We discuss conceptual implications to further develop the theory and practice of public service management.