The Struggle for Public Values at the Heart of Public Value Creation

Disillusioned from the New Public Management, emerging post-NPM management approaches have focused on the concepts of public value and public values. However, there is still no clear consensus on how those concepts are defined, how public values are formed, and how public value is created and measured. Here, we present a conceptual non-normative model that identifies the contested nature of public values and public value creation as a conceptual link between both concepts. It describes public values and the societal struggles surrounding them as central to public value creation. The developed model provides new perspectives on the role of societal actors and how they can actively engage to form public values, change their own position in society, and create and assess public value.