Meuleman L. Public Management and the Metagovernance of Hierarchies, Networks and Markets. The Feasibility of Designing and Managing Governance Style Combinations

Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag, 2008. - XIV, 402 p. - ISBN: 978-3-7908-2053-9 (Print) 978-3-7908-2054-6 (Online).
What is modern governance? Is it the battle against ‘old-fashioned’ hierarchy, or is it the restoration of key hierarchical values? Is it optimizing network management, or maximizing the benefits of market thinking in the public-sector? This book argues that it is the combination of all this. The next question is: In practice, how do successful public managers design and manage combinations of hierarchical, network and market governance? In other words: what is their rationale to apply metagovernance?
Five case-studies show that metagovernance is a public management requisite: it amplifies the variation of actions public managers can take, and it prevents the three ideal-typical governance styles from undermining each other. Similar cases of strategic environmental policy-making in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and the European Commission and one case of community policing in the Netherlands illustrate that successful public-sector managers are dealing with similar metagovernance challenges in different socio-politico-administrative cultures..Theoretical framework.
Research approach.
Strategic policy making: Four soil protection cases.
Street level policy-making: Community policing.
Possibilities and limitations of metagovernance as public management.
Practical implications: Increasing the metagovernance capacity.Further research questions.Epilogue.