Leading knowledge mobilization for public value: The case of the congestion charge zone (Area C) in Milan
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12559 |
| Published date | 01 June 2019 |
| Author | Mattia Martini,Dario Cavenago,Laura Mariani,Benedetta Trivellato |
| Date | 01 June 2019 |
SYMPOSIUM ARTICLE
Leading knowledge mobilization for public value:
The case of the congestion charge zone (Area C)
in Milan
Benedetta Trivellato
1
| Laura Mariani
2
| Mattia Martini
1
|
Dario Cavenago
1
1
Department of Sociology and Social Research,
University of Milano - Bicocca, Milan, Italy
2
CRIFSP (Public Sector Research and Training
Centre), University of Bologna Alma Mater
Studiorum, Bologna, Italy
Correspondence
Benedetta Trivellato, Department of Sociology
and Social Research, University of Milano -
Bicocca, via Bicocca degli Arcimboldi 8, 20126
Milan, Italy.
Email: benedetta.trivellato@unimib.it
Funding information
FP7 Science in Society, Grant/Award Number:
612113
The literature on public value creation has grown significantly in
recent years. However, how such generation of public value is
linked to the interaction between individual and organizational
capabilities, and the role played by leadership in such interaction, is
still underexplored. This analysis of the congestion charge zone
(Area C) implemented by the Municipality of Milan in Italy explores
this issue and highlights the role played by the knowledge orches-
trator who, by assuming different leadership roles at different
times, strives to create value through knowledge mobilization.
Leveraging from existing resources, the knowledge orchestrator
captures knowledge from the external environment and promotes
collaboration among individuals and institutions, so as to generate
a new reconfigured stock of knowledge. These activities nurture
the capacity of public organizations to collaborate, produce innova-
tions, and more broadly contribute to public value creation.
1|INTRODUCTION
Beyond traditional public administration and New Public Management (NPM), a post-NPM movement has emerged
through the diffusion of cooperation across actors and sectors, leading to increasing use of terms such as network
governance, collaborative government, public–private partnerships, collaborative innovation, and co-production by
both practitioners and academics (Bryson et al. 2014). Grouped under the umbrella term public governance, these
forms of cooperation assume, more or less explicitly, the fulfilment of public value (PV) as the objective of public poli-
cies (Moore 1994, 1995; Bryson et al. 2017), shifting away from the primary focus on efficiency and results towards
the accomplishment of a broader goal of value creation for citizens (O’Flynn 2007). In this perspective, public man-
agers are increasingly called to work across boundaries, and to develop new leadership skills to better fit within a PV
frame (O’Flynn 2007). Public leaders need to be able to involve actors with different and competing expectations
and values (Cameron et al. 2017) through cross-sector and multi-actor collaborations that join the resources and the
Received: 1 October 2017 Revised: 17 July 2018 Accepted: 17 September 2018
DOI: 10.1111/padm.12559
Public Administration. 2019;97:311–324. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/padm © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 311
To continue reading
Request your trial