Programme de la conférence

Public financial management plays a pivotal role in guiding local economies towards sustainability (Sinervo & Laihonen, 2022; Bisogno et al., 2024; Manes-Rossi et al., 2024). Firstly, to effectively mitigate operational impacts of local government organizations, their financial management needs to be aligned with sustainable development (See Kaur & Lodhia, 2019; Laihonen & Sinervo, 2023; Sinervo et al., 2024; Vikstedt et al., 2024). Secondly, looking beyond 2030, public financial management must be equipped to deal with the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as social problems such as inequality, exclusion and marginalization, and health disparities, while simultaneously the political and macroeconomic constraints faced by local governments further complicate the pursuit of sustainable financial management. Hence, we set forth a study to examine what sustainable public financial management beyond 2030 might be, addressing the following research question: How can the public financial management practices address the influence of sustainability crisis and build resilience of the local economies beyond 2030? Gathering expert opinions from financial managers of the 25 largest cities and municipalities in Finland through a Delphi Study (See, for example, Scholl et al., 2004) and refining and converging these opinions into an expert consensus, we seek to identify the present constrains, challenges, and blind spots regarding the impacts on sustainability crises on local economies, explore the future development needs and identify strategies through which sustainability thinking can be embedded into the public sector financial management practices and how these practices can make a contribution in building more sustainable and resilient local economies (c.f., Manes-Rossi, 2024).

Smart working (SW)—also referred to as telecommuting, agile working, or flexible working—poses significant challenges for organizations. Its core characteristics include flexibility in location, time, and working methods, raising critical questions about how employee performance can be effectively monitored and evaluated. From the outset, scholarly attention has focused on issues such as employee productivity, work-life balance, and potential negative career impacts (Caillier, 2013; de Vries et al., 2019). A key concern is how to assess the contribution of smart workers to organizational performance in terms of value creation, given that traditional performance management systems (e.g., measuring time spent in the office) are increasingly inadequate in SW contexts.

This study seeks to contribute to the growing body of literature on SW by analyzing the most recent versions of the Integrated Plan of Activities and Organization (PIAO) published by the Italian capitals of provinces. Using content analysis, the study examines the extent to which Italian LGs have identified activities suitable for SW and whether these are aligned with the process of public value creation. Additionally, the research investigates whether performance indicators are being used to guide staff behavior toward achieving SW goals that support public value creation.

This work addresses a gap in the current literature, which, despite recent growth, has not fully explored the complexities of performance appraisal in the context of SW. The findings offer useful insights for similar investigations in other public administrations and contribute to broader discussions on value creation in public sector organizations.