Publicness and organizational theory building : opening the black box

The paper investigates the publicness-performance relationship, combining and integrating two conceptual models presented in recent mainstream literature. The result points to the need to set the performance management debate in a broader context, one open to the contribution of organization studies. Embracing a fresh perspective not only helps to advance our understanding of the relevant phenomena, but also to build a more convincing and informed knowledge base on public service performanc