Evaluating results of public sector reforms in Rechtsstaat countries: the role of context and the role of processes in the reform of the Italian and French cultural heritage system

This paper analyses the results of public management reform in Italy focusing on its managerial significance in the field of cultural heritage. The primary aim is to overcome the general lack of studies analysing the impact of managerial reforms in governments with a Rechtsstaat tradition and to understand if, besides the political and institutional context characterised by a highly legalistic system there are other important factors that might affect results of reforms. Through an in-depth analysis of the reform of the Italian Ministry and a comparison with the French museum sector, the paper demonstrates that the way in which the process of change is managed significantly affects the results of reform. Specifically the author affirms that in order to obtain good reform results a greater active involvement of senior bureaucrats in the process of designing reforms is necessary.