Ventures in public value management: introduction to the symposium

Abstract

This essay reviews the development of public value management, tracing its rise from relative obscurity in the 1990s to the global attention it receives today. We also introduce the accompanying essays in this symposium which aim to spur further development in the years to come. We review the main tenets of public value management and highlight the key debates in the literature, discussing the mandate of public managers vis-a-vis politicians, the mobilization of ‘the public’, the framing of strategic challenges and the distinctiveness of value creation in the public domain. The five accompanying essays deal with these debates, but also break new ground by addressing fresh questions.