Strategic Management and Governance Deficits in Eastern European Public Administration

Public sector organisations in Romania and Eastern Europe face a structural strategic management deficit shaped by post-communist institutional legacies, persistent accountability constraints, and uneven administrative modernisation. Whilst EU accession has introduced significant reform pressure, the adoption of private sector strategic management tools in public administration remains partial, contested, and insufficiently adapted to the specific public governance context of the region. This conceptual paper examines the main strategic management challenges confronting Eastern European public administrations, analyses the accountability versus efficiency tension as a defining structural dilemma, and evaluates how private sector tools — including strategic planning, the Balanced Scorecard, and performance management systems — can be reframed within public governance structures. Drawing on New Public Management theory, post-communist transition literature, and EU administrative reform frameworks, the paper argues that transitioning toward robust strategic governance requires a contextually sensitive adaptation model that reconciles efficiency imperatives with democratic accountability, institutional capacity constraints, and the evolving demands of EU governance. A four-principle conceptual adaptation framework is proposed as a contribution to both scholarship and public administration practice in the region.