A crowding-out of public values? Managerial vs. Weberian values in public sector reform in Latin America

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyzes whether and how managerial and Weberian value systems can coexist or collide in different organisational settings. We compare six public organisations in two Latin American countries to study whether public sector reforms imply a clash or a crowding-out between these values systems. The article uses data from 60 semi-structured interviews with public officials of different hierarchical levels, in public central government agencies with different ages, modernisation stages, and organisational structures. Our analysis reveals that even in different settings and types of organisations, Weberian values coexist with managerial ones and with other sets of values related to governance or political patronage. We conclude that managerial values do not necessarily crowd out other value systems as previous studies have found and appear to be adapted to the organisational and national contexts in which they operate.