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The literature on Public Utilities has increasingly shown that the adoption of corporate governance tools for the management of public services in local policy-making has given rise to a considerable reshaping of political strategies and practices. Corporatisation should be understood as not merely a policy instrument, but also as a new opportunity for local politicians to adjust their preferences, to deal with various interests, and to build unusual coalitions. Corporatisation may (and does) influence the concrete operation of local political systems. Today, the boards of municipal enterprises, as well as the public-private partnerships stemming from this emerging tendency towards corporatisation, can be conceived as both actors of local policy-making and arenas in which a number of functions traditionally associated with the mechanisms of electoral representation are performed: inter- and intra-party bargaining, recruitment of elites, and negotiation with local and 'external' stakeholders. The paper illustrates the impact of corporatisation on local representation mechanisms in Italy, considering its opaque side with specific reference to the problem of democratic accountability and control, and the creation of new local oligarchies. Empirical evidence is provided from research on municipal enterprises in six different Italian regions. Statistical data on companies (amount of social capital, fields of activity, private and public shareholders, etc.), as well as qualitative data, are analysed in order to show how corporatisation has provided local actors with unusual (and often non-transparent) channels of political representation and public-private bargaining. Adapted from the source document.

The literature on Public Utilities has increasingly shown that the adoption of corporate governance tools for the management of public services in local policy-making has given rise to a considerable reshaping of political strategies and practices. Corporatisation should be understood as not merely a policy instrument, but also as a new opportunity for local politicians to adjust their preferences, to deal with various interests, and to build unusual coalitions. Corporatisation may (and does) influence the concrete operation of local political systems. Today, the boards of municipal enterprises, as well as the public–private partnerships stemming from this emerging tendency towards corporatisation, can be conceived as both actors of local policy-making and arenas in which a number of functions traditionally associated with the mechanisms of electoral representation are performed: inter- and intra-party bargaining, recruitment of élites, and negotiation with local and 'external' stakeholders. The paper illustrates the impact of corporatisation on local representation mechanisms in Italy, considering its opaque side with specific reference to the problem of democratic accountability and control, and the creation of new local oligarchies. Empirical evidence is provided from research on municipal enterprises in six different Italian regions. Statistical data on companies (amount of social capital, fields of activity, private and public shareholders, etc.), as well as qualitative data, are analysed in order to show how corporatisation has provided local actors with unusual (and often non-transparent) channels of political representation and public–private bargaining.

Identity orientation provides a means to understand the social motivations of organisational relationships and organisational policy and practices. This study uses identity orientation to understand the highly marketised context of independent 'elite' schools in Australia and how they relate to stakeholders to straddle their roles as social institutions that are increasingly required to operate in a corporate manner. Interviews with managers in quite new school roles such as marketing communication and business management were conducted in non-government schools to understand the schools' external orientations, coveted internal member traits, and frames of reference. The study shows that, in contrast to existing literature on the rhetoric of schools as focusing on 'the child', there was a strong emphasis on individualistic orientations in schools that saw stakeholders in instrumental terms of resources and connections, saw teachers as providing an innovative and leading edge, and used other prestigious schools as their frame of reference. To a lesser extent, schools would also be interested in the relationships with families, teachers, and the community for their own means. There were very few instances where the identity orientation was contributing to society, instead, focusing on university and network outcomes for pupils. Using identity orientation provides a theoretical lens to connect organisational governance to stakeholder engagement by providing insights into an organisation's identity including practices and behaviours, in relation to others. [Copyright John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.]

An enduring feature of New Public Management in many countries has been the move to create more autonomous, 'complete' organisations such as universities, hospitals and social service agencies. Often referred to as 'corporatisation', this process is assumed to be leading to the emergence of new organisational forms with dedicated management functions and a greater focus on strategy. However, these assumptions remain largely untested and rely heavily on 'technical' accounts of organisational re-structuring, ignoring the potential influence of institutional pressures and internal political dynamics. In this paper, we address this concern focusing on the case of acute care public hospitals that have undergone corporatisation (to become Foundation Trusts) in the English National Health Service. Using administrative data spanning six years (2007–2012), the analysis shows that corporatisation is having mixed effects. While it is associated with a shift in the focus of managers to strategic concerns, it has not led to an expansion of management functions overall. Both tendencies are found to be mediated by institutional pressures, in the form of media scrutiny, and, indirectly, by the involvement of clinical professions in management. These results advance ongoing debates about the emergence of new organisational forms in the public sector, highlighting the limitations of technical accounts of change and raising the possibility that corporatisation is leading to organisations that are both more managed and under-managered at the same time.

A heterogeneous private sector dominates healthcare provision in many middle-income countries. In India, the contemporary period has seen this sector undergo corporatisation processes characterised by emergence of large private hospitals and the takeover of medium-sized and charitable hospitals by corporate entities. Little is known about the operations of these private providers and the effects on healthcare professions as employment shifts from practitioner-owned small and medium hospitals to larger corporate settings. This article uses data from a mixed-methods study in two large cities in Maharashtra, India, to consider the implications of these contemporary changes for the medical profession. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 43 respondents who have detailed knowledge of healthcare in Maharashtra and from a witness seminar on the topic of transformation in Maharashtra's healthcare system. Transcripts from the interviews and witness seminar were analysed thematically through a combination of deductive and inductive approaches. Our findings point to a restructuring of medical practice in Maharashtra as training shifts towards private education and employment to those corporate hospitals. The latter is fuelled by substantial personal indebtedness, dwindling appeal of government employment, reduced opportunities to work in smaller private facilities and the perceived benefits of work in larger providers. We describe a ⠀ reprofessionalisation' of medicine encompassing changes in employment relations, performance targets and constraints placed on professional autonomy within the private healthcare sector that is accompanied by trends in cost inflation, medical malpractice, and distrust in doctor-patient relationships. The accompanying ⠀ restratification' within this part of the profession affords prestige and influence to ⠀ star doctors' while eroding the status and opportunity for young and early career doctors. The research raises important questions about the role that government and medical professionals' bodies can, and should, play in contemporary transformation of private healthcare and the implications of these trends for health systems more broadly.

Focusing on the "state" rather than the "nation," this article explores the interplay between nation branding and Poland's soft power statecraft. Contextualised by Poland's European orientation in foreign affairs, this Bourdieusian study focuses on the field of diplomacy and statecraft, particularly its communicative practices for the articulation of soft power. Aided by policy documents and campaign artefacts, this analysis of interviews (n=45) with state actors and newcomers to the field, nation branders, traces their actions, and unfolds the effects of their practices on soft power statecraft. The central argument emerging from the analysis of findings rests on the cultural conditions and ideological effects of nation branding on the field. On the one hand, I find, these effects advance the process of "corporatisation" of Poland's soft power statecraft. On the other hand, the embeddedness of nation branding in Poland marks a cultural shift in soft power statecraft towards technocratic and transactional promotional culture.

Focusing on the "state" rather than the "nation," this article explores the interplay between nation branding and Poland's soft power statecraft. Contextualised by Poland's European orientation in foreign affairs, this Bourdieusian study focuses on the field of diplomacy and statecraft, particularly its communicative practices for the articulation of soft power. Aided by policy documents and campaign artefacts, this analysis of interviews (n=45) with state actors and newcomers to the field, nation branders, traces their actions, and unfolds the effects of their practices on soft power statecraft. The central argument emerging from the analysis of findings rests on the cultural conditions and ideological effects of nation branding on the field. On the one hand, I find, these effects advance the process of "corporatisation" of Poland's soft power statecraft. On the other hand, the embeddedness of nation branding in Poland marks a cultural shift in soft power statecraft towards technocratic and transactional promotional culture.

La référence du texte en anglais est la suivante : Bennasr A., Verdeil É., 2014, An 'Arab Spring' for Corporatization? Tunisia's National Electricity Company (STEG), in MacDonald D. (éd.), Rethinking Corporatization: Public Utilities in the Global South, London/New York: ZED BOOKS LTD, p.88-106 ; International audience ; STEG, the Tunisian public company for electricity and gas, has been created in 1962 and has since operated as a major state tool for national integration and social and economic development. Rural and urban electrification is among its main achievements. Since the 1990's, the company has followed a more commercial-oriented approach, with the aim that tariff reflect the full production cost and to prevent the growth of the manpower. Such a contractualization policy with the state can be regarded as a corporatization policy. With the Tunisian revolution in 2011, this policy is being challenged. On the one hand, STEG has hired numerous new employees ; on the other hand, it is under financial pressure due to non-payment and agressions. The energy transition toward renewable energy, and pressures from international money funders, push for a liberalization of the electricity sector at a time where increasing energy demand makes strong investments necessary. STEG is a turning of its history. ; La Société tunisienne d'électricité et de gaz (STEG), créée en 1962, opère depuis lors comme un outil majeur d'intégration nationale et de développement économique et social au service de l'Etat tunisien. Parmi ses principales réalisations figurent l'électrification urbaine et rurale. Depuis les années 1990, la STEG a adopté une orientation plus commerciale, avec l'objectif que son tarif corresponde à son coût de production intégral, et de limiter la croissance de son effectif. Cette politique, connue sous le nom de contractualisation, peut être décrite comme une forme de corporatisation. Avec la révolution de 2011, cette politique est soumise à plusieurs défis. D'une part, la STEG a recruté ou régularisé un ...

La référence du texte en anglais est la suivante : Bennasr A., Verdeil É., 2014, An 'Arab Spring' for Corporatization? Tunisia's National Electricity Company (STEG), in MacDonald D. (éd.), Rethinking Corporatization: Public Utilities in the Global South, London/New York: ZED BOOKS LTD, p.88-106 ; International audience ; STEG, the Tunisian public company for electricity and gas, has been created in 1962 and has since operated as a major state tool for national integration and social and economic development. Rural and urban electrification is among its main achievements. Since the 1990's, the company has followed a more commercial-oriented approach, with the aim that tariff reflect the full production cost and to prevent the growth of the manpower. Such a contractualization policy with the state can be regarded as a corporatization policy. With the Tunisian revolution in 2011, this policy is being challenged. On the one hand, STEG has hired numerous new employees ; on the other hand, it is under financial pressure due to non-payment and agressions. The energy transition toward renewable energy, and pressures from international money funders, push for a liberalization of the electricity sector at a time where increasing energy demand makes strong investments necessary. STEG is a turning of its history. ; La Société tunisienne d'électricité et de gaz (STEG), créée en 1962, opère depuis lors comme un outil majeur d'intégration nationale et de développement économique et social au service de l'Etat tunisien. Parmi ses principales réalisations figurent l'électrification urbaine et rurale. Depuis les années 1990, la STEG a adopté une orientation plus commerciale, avec l'objectif que son tarif corresponde à son coût de production intégral, et de limiter la croissance de son effectif. Cette politique, connue sous le nom de contractualisation, peut être décrite comme une forme de corporatisation. Avec la révolution de 2011, cette politique est soumise à plusieurs défis. D'une part, la STEG a recruté ou régularisé un ...

La référence du texte en anglais est la suivante : Bennasr A., Verdeil É., 2014, An 'Arab Spring' for Corporatization? Tunisia's National Electricity Company (STEG), in MacDonald D. (éd.), Rethinking Corporatization: Public Utilities in the Global South, London/New York: ZED BOOKS LTD, p.88-106 ; International audience ; STEG, the Tunisian public company for electricity and gas, has been created in 1962 and has since operated as a major state tool for national integration and social and economic development. Rural and urban electrification is among its main achievements. Since the 1990's, the company has followed a more commercial-oriented approach, with the aim that tariff reflect the full production cost and to prevent the growth of the manpower. Such a contractualization policy with the state can be regarded as a corporatization policy. With the Tunisian revolution in 2011, this policy is being challenged. On the one hand, STEG has hired numerous new employees ; on the other hand, it is under financial pressure due to non-payment and agressions. The energy transition toward renewable energy, and pressures from international money funders, push for a liberalization of the electricity sector at a time where increasing energy demand makes strong investments necessary. STEG is a turning of its history. ; La Société tunisienne d'électricité et de gaz (STEG), créée en 1962, opère depuis lors comme un outil majeur d'intégration nationale et de développement économique et social au service de l'Etat tunisien. Parmi ses principales réalisations figurent l'électrification urbaine et rurale. Depuis les années 1990, la STEG a adopté une orientation plus commerciale, avec l'objectif que son tarif corresponde à son coût de production intégral, et de limiter la croissance de son effectif. Cette politique, connue sous le nom de contractualisation, peut être décrite comme une forme de corporatisation. Avec la révolution de 2011, cette politique est soumise à plusieurs défis. D'une part, la STEG a recruté ou régularisé un ...