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Public values as essential criteria for public entrepreneurship: Water management in France

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  • Marie, Tsanga Tabi

Abstract

Historically, major private companies were the dominant players in urban water supply in France. However, a new era of water supply restructuring is underway, whereby formally private water corporations are being made public. Given that many such public water corporations adopt practices associated with private entities, it is essential to identify what is expected of “public” entities by virtue of the fact that they are public. In this article, we examine the foundational ideas behind the raison d'être of public entities, which engender priorities that differ from their private sector counterparts. Using a research-action methodology, water utility management, staff and consumers of Greater Nantes were asked to specify the meaning of “public” and how it should be operationalized in the case of publicly owned utilities. The research shows that the attainment of public values is what lends legitimacy to a public utility charged with the provision of essential services. In this case, even in a context of neoliberal governance, where private values of an economic nature conflict with public goals; public values take precedence in the management and the regulation of the service.

Suggested Citation

  • Marie, Tsanga Tabi, 2016. "Public values as essential criteria for public entrepreneurship: Water management in France," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 162-169.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:40:y:2016:i:c:p:162-169
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2016.02.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Helen Ingram, 2006. "Water as a multi-dimensional value: implications for participation and transparency," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 6(4), pages 429-433, December.
    2. repec:wbk:wbpubs:13525 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Kathryn Furlong, 2012. "Good Water Governance without Good Urban Governance? Regulation, Service Delivery Models, and Local Government," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 44(11), pages 2721-2741, November.
    4. repec:wbk:wbpubs:15013 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Colin Eden & Chris Huxham, 2001. "The Negotiation of Purpose in Multi‐Organizational Collaborative Groups," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 373-391, May.
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    1. Anna Mempel-Śnieżyk & Szymon Wrześniowski, 2024. "Exploring the nexus between public sector entrepreneurial orientation and local entrepreneurship: A Polish local government example," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 39(5-6), pages 231-252, September.
    2. Massimiliano Agovino & Massimiliano Cerciello & Antonio Garofalo & Loris Landriani & Luigi Lepore, 2021. "Corporate governance and sustainability in water utilities. The effects of decorporatisation in the city of Naples, Italy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 874-890, February.
    3. Landriani, Loris & Lepore, Luigi & D'Amore, Gabriella & Pozzoli, Stefano & Alvino, Federico, 2019. "Decorporatization of a municipal water utility: A case study from Italy," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 43-47.

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