The Managerial Work of Italian City Managers: an Empirical Study

Among the measures taken to reform local government in Italy, one of the most significant is the introduction of the post of city manager. In this paper we outline the personal and professional traits of city managers in today’s Italy. The study provides a snapshot of a situation marked by increasing dynamism, but still with a certain degree of conservatism. A picture emerges of a manager with multiple roles, spending most time within the organisation and whose work seems typically orientated towards internal stakeholders rather than external constituencies. However, the changing role of municipalities in the Italian context poses new challenges and these will probably influence the evolution of the content of the managers’ work.