According to Barzelay (2019), public management lacks an autonomous conceptual identity, and this hampers its ability to thrive as a professional and academic discipline. We agree with this statement, but we believe that the Public Service Logic (PSL) theory developed by Osborne and colleagues (e.g., Osborne, 2020; Osborne et al., 2022) provides a great opportunity for re-understanding the distinctive nature of public services management. 1 Specifically, we think that PSL brings a paradigm shift and an opportunity for developing public management for two important reasons. First, it proposes a distinctive logic from other Public Administration models, such as Old Public Administration, New Public Management, and New Public Governance. Second, it focuses on a precise and distinctive empirical terrain for public management, namely the management of public services, contributing to detaching an autonomous area of investigation from the perspective taken by political science (which would see public services mainly through the lens of policy implementation) and from general management (largely focused on the private commercial sector perspective).
Braga, A., Di Maso, A., Franceschi, L., Sancino, A. (2025). Public Service Logic (PSL) and its practices: Towards a new era for public services management?. In S.P. Osborne, C. Bianchi, J. Macfarlane (a cura di), Public Service Logic and Public Service Reform State of the Art, New Perspectives, and Future Directions (pp. 160-174). Routledge [10.4324/9781032633671-12].
Public Service Logic (PSL) and its practices: Towards a new era for public services management?
Di Maso A.;Franceschi L.;
2025
Abstract
According to Barzelay (2019), public management lacks an autonomous conceptual identity, and this hampers its ability to thrive as a professional and academic discipline. We agree with this statement, but we believe that the Public Service Logic (PSL) theory developed by Osborne and colleagues (e.g., Osborne, 2020; Osborne et al., 2022) provides a great opportunity for re-understanding the distinctive nature of public services management. 1 Specifically, we think that PSL brings a paradigm shift and an opportunity for developing public management for two important reasons. First, it proposes a distinctive logic from other Public Administration models, such as Old Public Administration, New Public Management, and New Public Governance. Second, it focuses on a precise and distinctive empirical terrain for public management, namely the management of public services, contributing to detaching an autonomous area of investigation from the perspective taken by political science (which would see public services mainly through the lens of policy implementation) and from general management (largely focused on the private commercial sector perspective).
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