From efficient service provision to co-production: the diffusion of a new governance paradigm in Danish eldercare

Abstract

From 2008 to 2017, a public sector innovation termed reablement diffused among Danish municipalities. We show how this transition is an example of New Public Governance (NPG) strategies supplementing and to some extent replacing New Public Management (NPM) strategies. Further, we analyze the diffusion pattern based on hypotheses derived from the diffusion-of-innovation literature. We find a surprising relationship between fiscal stress and time of adoption. Those municipalities with high levels of fiscal stress adopt early relative to municipalities with lower levels of fiscal stress. Thus, innovation seems to be the politics of ‘hard times’ and as a tool to overcome economic austerity.