NEW strongPUBLICstrong MANAGEMENT VALUES AND PERSON- ORGANIZATION FIT A.pdfVIP

doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2007.00703.x NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT VALUES AND PERSON- ORGANIZATION FIT: A SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH AND EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION AMONG PUBLIC SECTOR PERSONNEL 1 1 ERAN VIGODA-GADOT AND SAGIE MEIRI This paper takes a socio-psychological approach to NPM and its value-based theory in public administration. We develop a model for the study of NPM values based on the idea of Person- Organization Fit (POF) and examine it empirically. Findings, based on a survey of 205 Israeli local governance personnel, revealed that the POF of several core NPM values (that is, responsiveness, transparency, innovativeness, and achievement orientations) was positively related with job satis- faction, organizational commitment, and service climate, as reported by these public personnel. The fi ndings suggest that, beyond modern strategies and effective policies for the public sector, lies an essential quest for NPM value-fi t with public personnel. Consequently, the study advocates a better theoretical and practical understanding of the socio-psychological interfaces, such as POF, in pub- lic administration. Implications and directions for future studies are discussed, both in the context of public administration research and in the generic fi eld of organizational behaviour theory and practice. The detailed results of the factor analyses are available directly from the authors. INTRODUCTION The New Public Management (NPM) doctrine in public administration has attracted a great deal of interest, which continues, NPM reforms have been adopted in many Western and non-Western societies (see Lam 1997; Cunningham 2000; Caiden and Caiden 2002; Torres and Pina 2004; Noblet et al. 2005 ) with the goal of moving antiquated bureaucracies into a