Critical Success Factors in Public Management Reform: The Case of the European Commission

Using comparative analytical frameworks developed to explain the incidence, intensity and success or otherwise of managerial reforms in government, this article is a case study of the effects of the Kinnock management reforms in the European Commission. It draws on international experience to identify and evaluate critical success factors, situates the Commission reforms within this comparative international context and then focuses on the reforms and their implementation. Using Commission documentation and other sources including interview material, the article charts the progress of implementation against critical success factors and structural conduciveness, identifying both the unintended outcomes likely to result and the overall likelihood of success.