Translating trust as a magic concept in public sector reforms: A comparative study of the Danish and Swedish trust reform

In response to growing criticism of new public management reforms, theNordic countries have introduced so-called trust reforms aimed at transformingpublic sector management and leadership. There is, however, scarceknowledge about the role of organizational concepts in national trustreform and how they are translated, not least in a comparative perspective.This study offers an in-depth analysis of how robustly “trust” as a concepthas been translated in Danish and Swedish public sector reforms. Drawingon the literature on organizational translation, we use the translational diamondas a theoretical framework for a comparative analysis based primarilyon document studies, triangulated with supplementary survey data andinterviews. Findings indicate that the Swedish reform has both a strongerstrategic and local anchoring as well as a more elaborate use of reflectiveand experimental reform activities. However, the study also points to otherfactors of importance to robust translations, such as long-term commitmentand political support.