Fudan Nordic Lecture Series No.12

Title

Public Sector Top Managers and Performance of Public Organizations

Speaker

Prof. Anders Ryom Villadsen, Aarhus University

Host

Assoc. Prof. Ziteng Fan, Fudan IGPP

Discussant

Asst. Prof. Wenyan Tu, Fudan IGPP

Time

12:00-13:20, April 20, Monday, 2026

Venue

Room 805E, 8th Floor, West Sub-building of Guanghua Towers

https://v.wjx.cn/vm/tU4Gy5Z.aspx#

The Speaker：

Prof. Anders Ryom Villadsen

Anders Ryom Villadsen is a Professor of Public Management at Aarhus University and a visiting Professor at Sino-Danish Center, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Feb-Jul 2026). His research examines leadership, organizational change, and performance in public organizations, with a particular focus on comparative and China-related contexts. He has published in leading journals such as Public Administration Review, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Public Management Review. He has been actively involved in Sino-Danish academic collaboration since 2013 with regular trips to China. Professor Villadsen is a former associate editor at JPART and currently serves on the editorial boards of JPART and PAR.

Abstract:

While top managers have long been recognized as key drivers of organizational performance in the private sector, their role in public organizations remains underexplored. This lecture addresses this gap by examining how top managers influence public sector outcomes. Drawing on evidence from Denmark and China, the talk focuses on three central questions: First, how does top management team diversity, particularly gender composition, shape organizational performance and policy priorities? Second, when do top managers matter most for performance, and what role do leadership turnover and managerial autonomy play? Finally, what is the role of the institutional contexts—such as hierarchical accountability in China versus more horizontal governance in Denmark? The talk seek to integrate recent empirical studies to offer theoretical insights and practical implications for public leadership in different governance systems.