Simon Bastow

Bio: Simon Bastow is an academic researcher from London School of Economics and Political Science. The author has contributed to research in topics: Government & Public sector. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 43 publications receiving 2561 citations. Previous affiliations of Simon Bastow include University College London.

New public management is dead. Long live digital-era governance

Abstract: The "new public management" (NPM) wave in public sector organizational change was founded on themes of disaggregation, competition, and incentivization. Although its effects are still working through in countries new to NPM, this wave has now largely stalled or been reversed in some key "leading-edge" countries. This ebbing chiefly reflects the cumulation of adverse indirect effects on citizens' capacities for solving social problems because NPM has radically increased institutional and policy complexity. The character of the post-NPM regime is currently being formed. We set out the case that a range of connected and information technology-centered changes will be critical for the current and next wave of change, and we focus on themes of reintegration, needs-based holism, and digitization changes. The overall movement incorporating these new shifts is toward "digital-era governance" (DEG), which involves reintegrating functions into the governmental sphere, adopting holistic and needs-oriented structures, and progressing digitalization of administrative processes. DEG offers a perhaps unique opportunity to create self-sustaining change, in a broad range of closely connected technological, organizational, cultural, and social effects. But there are alternative scenarios as to how far DEG will be recognized as a coherent phenomenon and implemented successfully.

Digital Era Governance: IT Corporations, the State, and e-Government

Abstract: Introduction: Information Technology and Public Policymaking 1. The Theory of Modern Bureaucracy and the Neglected Role of IT 2. Acquiring and Managing Government IT 3. The Comparative Performance of Government IT 4. Explaining Performance I: Government Institutions, New Public Management and Bureaucratic Cultures 5. Explaining Performance II: Competitive Tension and the Power of the IT Industry 6. Taxation: Re-Modernizing Legacy IT and Getting Taxpayers Online 7. Social Security: Managing Mass Payment and Responding to Welfare State Change 8. Immigration: Technology Changes and Adminstrative Renewal 9. New Public Management is Dead - Long Live Digital Era Governance Afterword: Looking Ahead on Technology Trends, Industry Organization, and Government IT

The Impact of the Social Sciences: How Academics and their Research Make a Difference

Abstract: 1. The Social Sciences in Modern Research The scale and diversity of the social sciences The social sciences and human-dominated systems Perceptions of 'impact' from the social sciences PART I: HOW ACADEMICS ACHIEVE EXTERNAL IMPACTS 2. Social Scientists' Pathways to Impacts The academic impacts of social science researchers The external impacts of researchers Profiling different types of academic and their impacts 3. Modelling the Determinants of Social Science Impacts Multi-variate modelling of impacts The factors shaping academic impacts The factors shaping external impacts 4. Comparing Individuals' Impact Using case studies of high impact academics Explaining high impacts at the individual level Pulling together the analysis PART II: THE DEMAND FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH 5. Business and the Corporate Sector The range of university links with business The scale of social sciences involvement with business Barriers to greater use of social science research in firms 6. Government and Public Policy Making Social science and the policy arena The scale of social science links to policy Social scientists' influence on policy 7. Civil Society Organizations and the Third Sector Civil society organizations and 'advocacy coalitions' The scale of social science research links to civil society Growing the impacts of social science in the third sector 8. The Media and Public Engagement Academic expertise and 'the public' Social scientists and conventional news media Social science and social media Innovating with social science and the media PART III: PATTERNS OF KNOWLEDGE AND IMPACTS 9. The Dynamic Knowledge Inventory and Research Mediation The dynamic knowledge inventory The mediation of social science research 10. Social Science for a digital era Joining up for a 'broad-front' social science Re-framing human-centred disciplines and integrating STEM and social sciences Towards a more global social science

Fuzzy-Set Social Science

Abstract: In this innovative approach to the practice of social science, Charles Ragin explores the use of fuzzy sets to bridge the divide between quantitative and qualitative methods. Paradoxically, the fuzzy set is a powerful tool because it replaces an unwieldy, "fuzzy" instrument—the variable, which establishes only the positions of cases relative to each other, with a precise one—degree of membership in a well-defined set. Ragin argues that fuzzy sets allow a far richer dialogue between ideas and evidence in social research than previously possible. They let quantitative researchers abandon "homogenizing assumptions" about cases and causes, they extend diversity-oriented research strategies, and they provide a powerful connection between theory and data analysis. Most important, fuzzy sets can be carefully tailored to fit evolving theoretical concepts, sharpening quantitative tools with in-depth knowledge gained through qualitative, case-oriented inquiry. This book will revolutionize research methods not only in sociology, political science, and anthropology but in any field of inquiry dealing with complex patterns of causation.

New public management is dead. Long live digital-era governance

Abstract: The "new public management" (NPM) wave in public sector organizational change was founded on themes of disaggregation, competition, and incentivization. Although its effects are still working through in countries new to NPM, this wave has now largely stalled or been reversed in some key "leading-edge" countries. This ebbing chiefly reflects the cumulation of adverse indirect effects on citizens' capacities for solving social problems because NPM has radically increased institutional and policy complexity. The character of the post-NPM regime is currently being formed. We set out the case that a range of connected and information technology-centered changes will be critical for the current and next wave of change, and we focus on themes of reintegration, needs-based holism, and digitization changes. The overall movement incorporating these new shifts is toward "digital-era governance" (DEG), which involves reintegrating functions into the governmental sphere, adopting holistic and needs-oriented structures, and progressing digitalization of administrative processes. DEG offers a perhaps unique opportunity to create self-sustaining change, in a broad range of closely connected technological, organizational, cultural, and social effects. But there are alternative scenarios as to how far DEG will be recognized as a coherent phenomenon and implemented successfully.

A Systematic Review of Co-Creation and Co-Production: Embarking on the social innovation journey

Abstract: This article presents a systematic review of 122 articles and books (1987–2013) of co-creation/co-production with citizens in public innovation It analyses (a) the objectives of co-creation and co-production, (b) its influential factors and (c) the outcomes of co-creation and co-production processes It shows that most studies focus on the identification of influential factors, while hardly any attention is paid to the outcomes Future studies could focus on outcomes of co-creation/co-production processes Furthermore, more quantitative studies are welcome, given the qualitative, case study, dominance in the field We conclude with a research agenda to tackle methodological, theoretical and empirical lacunas

Research in social entrepreneurship: past contributions and future opportunities

Abstract: Social entrepreneurship has been a topic of academic inquiry for nearly 20 years, yet relatively little scholarly output has appeared in mainstream management and entrepreneurship journals Our review of this literature reveals that conceptual articles outnumber empirical studies, and empirical efforts often lack formal hypotheses and rigorous methods These findings suggest that social entrepreneurship research remains in an embryonic state Future research would benefit from the incorporation of multivariate methods to complement the case study techniques that have dominated previous efforts Our review also suggests that social entrepreneurship is informed by common areas of interest to management scholars like entrepreneurship, public/nonprofit management, and social issues, all of which represent fruitful venues for future research efforts Therefore, we recommend that scholars embrace key themes in strategic entrepreneurship and frame their research using established theories, such as contingency theory, creation theory, discovery theory, innovation diffusion theory, resource dependence theory, and other theoretical bases relevant to strategic entrepreneurship research Copyright © 2009 Strategic Management Society