A Bibliometrics Approach to Understanding Conceptual Breadth, Depth and Development: The Case of New Public Management
| Author | Dion Curry,Steven Van de Walle |
| Published date | 01 May 2018 |
| Date | 01 May 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929916644869 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929916644869
Political Studies Review
2018, Vol. 16(2) 113 –124
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929916644869
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A Bibliometrics Approach to
Understanding Conceptual
Breadth, Depth and
Development: The Case of
New Public Management
Dion Curry1 and Steven Van de Walle2
Abstract
This article uses bibliometric analysis to track the breadth and depth of the concept of New
Public Management as it has developed in the 25 years since the coining of the term, in order
to provide a deeper understanding of how academics have engaged with the subject. The article
uses bibliometric and qualitative analysis to map the use of the concept as a whole and over time,
and the use of bibliometrics provides an original, methodical and quantitative way of analysing
the usage and movement of New Public Management as a concept. It looks at the breadth of the
literature in terms of whether it has spread to new journals or academic disciplines and depth in
terms of whether articles on New Public Management engage with new research on the subject.
It is shown that the breadth of the literature has increased, but there has been no significant
deepening. By providing an overarching view of New Public Management as a concept, this article
allows for more systematic academic engagement with the concept, leading to a deeper research
agenda that goes beyond its current somewhat limited usage.
Keywords
New Public Management, public management reform, bibliometrics
Accepted: 11 March 2016
Introduction
The body of literature on New Public Management (NPM) is varied and immense, cutting
across disciplines in a way that necessitates a quantitative as well as qualitative analysis
of how the concept has travelled. Once adopted into the literature, well-known concepts
within a discipline can move (and potentially warp) into new areas of research over time
1Department of Political and Cultural Studies, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
2Public Governance Institute, KU Leuven, Belgium
Corresponding author:
Dion Curry, Department of Political and Cultural Studies, Swansea University, James Callaghan Building,
Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
Email: D.S.D.Curry@swansea.ac.uk
644869PSW0010.1177/1478929916644869Political Studies ReviewCurry and Van de Walle
research-article2016
Article
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