Contenu du sommaire : Le gestionnaire public en question

Strategic investment and development of SMEs. This article examines how past strategic investments in SMEs guide and shape the mental attitudes of their leaders and their current and future strategic practices. We propose an exploratory study over an extensive data basis (632 SMEs) that addresses the opposite relationship than the one usually studied in strategy and show how strategic initiatives guide SME's activities and developments in the more or less long term.

Confidentiality agreement between firms: A sign of vulnerability and a source of innovation. One of the most precious assets for most firms today is intellectual property. Non-disclosure agreements – also called confidentiality agreements – allow firms to share their intellectual property with other firms. But how do these agreements impact a firm's activities? This qualitative study of biotechnology SMEs in Québec shows that, depending on what they cover, these agreements can either increase the vulnerability of the firm or foster innovation.

Detecting the individual skills of managers. What are the strengths of the analog model? Bernaud (1999) claimed that the analogical model, the evaluation centre method in particular, “constitutes – in theory – an ideal format for detecting individual competence” (p.125). Our research aims to understand the representativeness, the acceptability, and the predictability of this evaluative approach towards individual competence as defined through a behavioural perspective. Mixed methodology showcases the relevance of the evaluation centre method, presenting a more responsible process of recruitment and of the evaluation of individual competences.

A collaborative measurement tool in the customer-supplier relationships. This paper presents a collaborative measurement tool in the customer-supplier relationships: the PEAK Collaborative Index© (PCI). Based on the theoretical foundations of relational norms and philosophical approaches of the cardinal virtues of justice, courage, prudence and temperance, the PCI has been tested on nearly 300 firms engaged in collaborative relationships. It reveals the importance of propaedeutic virtues such as self-control and courtesy but also of non-opportunistic inter-organizational behaviors rooted in the search for justice, courage and prudence.

When design meets administration: new forms of public innovation. While administrative reforms seem always more discussed, new practices have been emerging since early 2000s. Explicitely presented as innovations, their methods are inspired by design, open source, ethnography or social entrepreneurship approaches. Based on a qualitative analysis of these public innovation forms, we show that they may disrupt some of the traditional principles of public action. In that respect, we discuss their potential effects on public managers' behavior, at various levels.

Intuition in the decision-making process. Managing territorial networks: A case study. Very few empirical studies focus on intuition, whereas researchers and professionals show interest in this concept. Our exploratory research questions the factors of intuition in the decision-making processes of 8 industrial clusters' managers, which represent a privileged field of observation of public action's emergent professions and skills. We found that governance rules shape management methods and, as a result, influence decision-making process. Besides some managerial levers, we put forward the concept of distributed intuition.

Public service motivation of Tunisian public managers in the light of the revolution. Towards a renewed psychological contract? This work aims to comprehend the determinants of public service motivation. The outcomes of the exploratory investigation, conducted in Tunisian public administration, reveal clearly that the motivational bases of public managers are anchored in a particular dimension of public service professional standards. Our findings underline that the development of practices aligned with the public ethos promotes public service motivation.

Striking a balance between the administrative logic and the managerial logic. When local executive directors are in the heart of the new local government management. This article suggests studying, in the context characterizing the New Territorial Management, the roles, the positionings and the postures of territorial managers in consideration of three of their missions as project manager assistant, representative of project manager and architect, respectively in the implementation of public policies and territory projects, and in the control of organizations. By leaning an interpretative analysis of 65 interviews led to 2 occasions in 2012 and 2014 with senior executives of local authorities, the author shows which are the tensions being able to be born between these various registers.