New development: The implementation (gap) of senior civil service recruitment reform—a matter of organizational size?

The article provides insights into public management reform by examining how organizational size affects public organizations’ ability to implement innovations. The case of Italy’s senior civil service recruitment reform is described to highlight strategies that address implementation gaps and mitigate the challenges faced by smaller organizations with limited administrative capacity and limited resources for innovation. For policy-makers, the findings underscore the need to design support mechanisms for smaller entities, balancing local flexibility with consistent central-level enforcement. The results emphasize the importance of collaboration to share best practices and jointly deliver services across public sector organizations, fostering economies of scale and scope, especially in a domain like public personnel policy.