Public Management in the 21st Century: Innovations and Challenges in Governance

Dear Colleagues,

The landscape of public management is undergoing profound transformations driven by technological, social, economic, and political change, and consequently this Special Issue seeks to advance scholarly understanding of how public management is adapting to these challenges, with a focus on innovations in governance, administrative reforms, and multi-actor collaboration. We welcome theoretical, empirical, and comparative studies that illuminate both the opportunities and obstacles shaping public management in the 21st century.

Central to the Special Issue is the exploration of integrative and networked governance models, emphasizing how collaborative approaches, digital tools, and inclusive leadership can enhance public service delivery and policy outcomes. Integrative public leadership, for example, is increasingly recognized as essential for managing boundary-crossing collaborations across sectors and navigating complex societal problems, emphasizing the alignment of structures, processes, and actor relationships (Parkkinen, 2024). Collaborative governance remains a core theme, as modern public administration increasingly involves multi-stakeholder arrangements that extend beyond hierarchical state structures. Research demonstrates that cross-sector collaboration can enhance problem-solving capacity, accountability, and public value creation, particularly in contexts where social, economic, and environmental challenges intersect (Sørensen & Torfing, 2021).

The Special Issue also addresses the digital transformation of public management, including the integration of artificial intelligence, data analytics, and digital platforms into administrative processes. Recent public management research has emphasized the importance of data availability, data quality, and digital technologies in shaping public sector innovation, transparency, and public value. Digital government is increasingly recognized as a critical driver of co-production and governance improvement; however, few studies have systematically explored its theoretical and practical implications for public management, highlighting a significant gap in the literature (Gil-Garcia, Dawes & Pardo, 2018). Studies show that digital governance has the potential to improve performance, transparency, and civic engagement, while also introducing challenges such as information overload, institutional adaptation, and equity in access (Vigoda-Gadot & Mizrahi, 2024; Guenduez et al., 2025).

Further, the Special Issue encourages contributions examining public management responses to societal challenges such as labor market transformations, social inequalities, demographic shifts, climate change, and crisis management. Research highlights that effective governance in these areas requires inclusive, multi-level approaches that integrate state and non-state actors, civil society, and private sector stakeholders. Comparative analyses of governance innovations across institutional contexts can provide critical insights into the diverse mechanisms through which public management adapts and evolves.

Finally, accountability, transparency, ethics, and legitimacy remain central concerns. Recent empirical evidence suggests that e-government initiatives and collaborative governance arrangements can enhance regulatory quality, government effectiveness, and stakeholder trust, though success is highly context-dependent (Zou, Q. et al., 2023). Contributions addressing these dimensions will help elucidate how modern public management balances innovation with responsible governance practices.

By bringing together these themes, the Special Issue aims to offer a comprehensive, forward-looking understanding of public management, highlighting innovations, challenges, and the evolving interplay between governance structures, leadership, technology, and societal demands.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 300–500 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send this to the Guest Editors (bercu@uaic.ro; nevilasokoli@gmail.com) or to the Administrative Sciences Editorial Office (admsci@mdpi.com) before 31 May 2026. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

References

Guenduez, A. A., Demircioglu, M. A., Mueller, E. M., & Cinar, E. (2025). Digital innovation strategies in the public sector. Research Policy, 54(8), 105274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2025.105274.

Parkkinen, J. (2024). Integrative public leadership: A systematic review. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 38(4), 426–447.

Sørensen, E., & Torfing, J. (2021). Accountable government through collaborative governance? Administrative Sciences, 11(4), 127. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci11040127.

Vigoda-Gadot, E., Mizrahi, Z. (2024). The digital governance puzzle: Towards integrative theory of humans, machines, and organizations in public management. Technology in Society, 77, 102530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102530.

Zou, Q., Mao, Z., Yan, R., Liu, S., Duan, Z. (2023). Vision and reality of e-government for governance improvement: Evidence from global cross-country panel data. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 194, 122667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122667.

Ramon Gil-Garcia, J., Dawes, S.S., Pardo, T.A. (2018) Digital government and public management research: finding the crossroads, Public Management Review, 20:5, 633-646, https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2017.1327181.

Prof. Dr. Ana-Maria Bercu
Prof. Dr. Nevila Xhindi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Administrative Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• public management
• governance
• digitalisation
• smart cities
• policy
• innovation