Quakes and aftershocks

organisational restructuring in the New Zealand state sector, 1960–2017

Abstract

This article draws upon co-author Masashi Yui’s unique database on state sector organisational restructuring in New Zealand from 1960 to 2017. It shows that if the peak years of structural change, 1986–92 – the ‘revolution’ which saw New Zealand as a world leader in what became known as New Public Management – were seismic shocks, then they have been followed by an apparently endless number of aftershocks, which distinguish the post-peak period from the 25 years preceding it. The article speculates as to whether there could be links between the amount of organisational restructuring, unsatisfactory productivity rates in the New Zealand state sector, and the embedding of the ‘managerialist’ culture that was introduced by the ‘revolution’.