Beyond Public–Private Sector Differences: Managerial Response Mechanisms in Romanian Police and Industrial Organizations

Public and private organizations increasingly operate under conditions of technological change, external demands, institutional constraints, and growing expectations for responsiveness, placing renewed attention on the discretion available to managers and on how that discretion is translated into organizational responses. This study examines whether managerial behavior under such conditions can be explained through partly shared response mechanisms rather than sector membership alone. An integrative contextual model was tested using survey data from 238 managers (153 from Romanian police organizations and 85 from industrial companies) in North-West Romania. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and path analysis identified seven constructs and a differentiated empirical model. Managerial autonomy was positively associated with adaptive–reflective managerial practices and decision legitimacy and relational trust. External and technological pressures were associated with greater legitimacy and trust and greater resistance to change, but not with adaptive–reflective practices. Adaptive–reflective practices were associated with lower resistance and stronger stakeholder orientation, whereas legitimacy and trust did not reduce resistance. Public–private differences were selective, with significant differences in autonomy, adaptive–reflective practices, external pressures, and stakeholder orientation, but not in legitimacy and trust, organizational constraints, or resistance. The findings shift attention from broad sector differences toward the managerial response mechanisms associated with discretion and external pressures and highlight the potential relevance of responsible managerial autonomy for adaptation under institutional constraints.