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Public Value Is Knowable, Public Value Creation Is Not

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Challenges to Public Value Creation

Part of the book series: Public Sector Organizations ((PSO))

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Abstract

In response to Mark Prebble’s most inspiring ideas on the unknowability of public value, I call for a more process-oriented public value research where human needs are at center stage. Based on self-organization theory, I propose to describe public value dynamics as a complex interplay of different values linking the individual (micro) and collective (macro) level. The chapter concludes that public value is knowable at any given point, but its future direction cannot be predicted.

Meynhardt, T. Administration & Society 54(8), pp. 1631–1642, copyright © 2021 by The Author. Reprinted by Permission of SAGE Publications.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Leipzig, Germany

    Timo Meynhardt

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  1. Timo Meynhardt
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Correspondence to Timo Meynhardt .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Public Administration and Policy, Virginia Tech, Arlington, VA, USA

    Brian J. Cook

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Meynhardt, T. (2024). Public Value Is Knowable, Public Value Creation Is Not. In: Cook, B.J. (eds) Challenges to Public Value Creation. Public Sector Organizations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46030-2_6

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