Research

Dr Paula Rossi, University of Vaasa, Finland. "Public Service Professionals' Perceptions on Causes of Value Destruction." 

Wednesday, 18 March 2026. 15:00 - 16:30 Room 6124, Adam Smith Business School Building

Abstract

This study foregrounds the public service professionals’ perceptions of value destruction in public service encounters. Utilizing conflict as an analytical tool when inductively analyzing thematic interview and eDelphi panel data focusing on Finnish social and healthcare services' context, this study zooms in to the micro level of public service encounters to reveal how public service professionals engage with institutional, organizational, and individual conditions as they interpret public policies and organisational frameworks to respond to service user needs. The findings illustrate how service user value creation is jeopardized, for example, by the service users' experiences arising from previous service encounters, stolid organizational structures and practices, managerial emphasis on efficiency, or fragmentation of the public service system. Thus, overcoming the causes of value destruction requires organizational and institutional solutions, illustrating the need for administrative and managerial actions within and across all levels of public service ecosystems.

Bio

Paula Rossi, D.Sc. (Admin.) is working as an Assistant Professor of Public Governance at University of Vaasa, Finland. She is also currently Visiting Researcher at University of Edinburgh Business School. Her research interests focus on public services, at the intersections of policy and practice, especially through exploration of conflicts in value creation and destruction processes in public service ecosystems. Broadly speaking, Rossi is interested in conducting research that provides pathways to foster sustainability of our welfare systems and increase the wellbeing of service users and citizens.

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First published: 23 February 2026