The best of two worlds:how privatization affects the identity of a public organization

Palma, Patrícia Jardim Trindade Martins da; Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Lopes, Miguel Pereira

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.12/2450

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Authors

Palma, Patrícia Jardim Trindade Martins da

Cunha, Miguel Pina e

Lopes, Miguel Pereira

Abstract(s)

Policies have been introduced in the public sector to increase efficiency. Following a privatization, there is a split between operational and strategic control. In this study, we explored how a public organization restores its identity after losing its operational structure. Based on a case study of a seaport, we found that when the self-defining properties were lost, the organizational identity dissolved into a managerial public identity. The organizational meaning that provided security and guided behavior was lost and the new identity was unable to serve as a provider of meaning. Implications for new public management policy and practice are discussed.