Explaining willingness of public professionals to implement new policies: A policy alienation framework

Nowadays, public professionals are often unwilling to implement new policies. We analyse this problem using an interdisciplinary approach, combining public administration and change management literature. From public administration, we use the policy alienation concept, consisting of five sub-dimensions: 1.strategic powerlessness, 2.tactical powerlessness, 3.operational powerlessness, 4.societal meaninglessness and 5.client meaninglessness. These are considered factors possibly influencing the willingness of professionals to implement policies (change willingness). We test this model in a survey among 478 Dutch mental healthcare professionals implementing a new reimbursement policy. First, perceived autonomy (operational powerlessness) significantly influenced change willingness. Second, the meaninglessness dimensions proved highly significant. Strategic and tactical powerlessness were insignificant. This means that clarifying a case for change is important in policy implementation by professionals, while participation on a strategic or tactical level seems less relevant. These insights help in understanding why public professionals embrace or resist implementing particular policies.