Improvisation in Public Administration : An Exploration of Implementation Environments in a Developing Country

Hodgkinson, Ian R. and Hughes, Paul and Leite, Higor and Nascimento, Thiago C. (2025) Improvisation in Public Administration : An Exploration of Implementation Environments in a Developing Country. International Journal of Public Administration. pp. 1-14. ISSN 0190-0692

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Abstract

Though public management in developing countries is oriented toward an action imperative, dealing with situations in real-time, the improvisation phenomenon has received little scholarly attention in public administration and management. This knowledge gap leads to the study’s research question: how do different implementation environments influence improvisation in public service organizations? Addressing this research question, the article draws on survey questionnaire data generated from public managers (n = 208) across different public service organizations in Brazil. Adopting a configurational methodology, the study reveals four implementation environments each with a specific set of characteristics and, through additional analysis, contrasting service performance levels.