Professional values and organizational change dynamics: the case of the reform of doctoral training in France

Abstract

At a time when the reforms inspired by New Public Management are prompting a hybridization of values, there is growing reference to the notion of values in managerial discourses within public organizations. While some studies consider the statement of values as a direct lever of change, others show that they are more of an obstacle. The studies that make use of institutional logics or economies of worth suggest a dynamic of change involving values, without exploring it as such. Focusing on the context of public professional organizations, this article explores the link between values and change by focusing on the process of adoption of new practices in response to a reform. Our qualitative research among academics during the implementation of the reform of doctoral training in France confirms that professional autonomy is often against reform, but also reveals that ‘professional values’ do not form a coherent and fixed whole: they are plural and generate a series of tensions that are, in turn, reflected by practices. The reform has the effect of inflaming controversies, leading to a possible change brought about by the professionals themselves.

Points for practitioners

This article challenges the view of professional values as a mechanical source of immobilization, and the interest of a purely discursive use of the values to support change. Professional values appear more as an endogenous source of change than as leverage available to management in times of a reform.