Bürokratie, Wandel und Innovation – verwaltungshistorische Perspektiven

The social sciences have shaped how the science of public administration perceives innovations. Therefore, economic concepts of productivity and competitiveness frame the way innovations in public administrations are perceived. In contrast, this introduction develops a model for the historical analysis of innovations in administrative organizations. Using the concept of innovation, this model focuses on three levels of change processes that are analytically distinct but often occur together: (1) discourses of novelty, (2) actors of change, and (3) administrative practices.