Studying Government from Management Perspective: Developing a Research Paradigm

Research on government is abundant, but a management perspective is yet to be established as a research paradigm. Conversely, management research has yet to firmly accommodate government as an organizational object of study. This paper advances the study of government through a management lens, proposing “Management in Government” (MIG) as a distinct paradigm beyond the domains of political science and public administration. Drawing on reform literature, longitudinal studies of Bangladesh, and field-level observations of institutional practices, the paper establishes the conceptual foundations of MIG and introduces a contextualized research agenda (MIG-BD). Traditional top-down reforms have yielded limited improvements in citizen services, highlighting the limits of strategies that overlook operational realities. The proposed paradigm emphasizes citizen-centric service delivery, bottom-up perspectives, and the application of business management tools in public agencies. Ultimately, it offers a framework to study government as an organization and governance effectiveness through the disciplinary lens of management.