Public sector readiness for value co-creation: The diffusion of a governance innovation

The article explores the spread of an innovative model for state–third sector partnerships used inSweden among local governments in Finland. The study employed action-based research togenerate and analyse data from four self-selected municipalities. The study reveals majorfacilitators and obstacles in spreading and adopting collaborative cross-sector models as they gobeyond simple methodological or legal issues and require a shift in public sector logics andidentities. The results suggest that resistance is more ‘in the heads’ of municipal managers andpoliticians and engrained in administrative traditions than in legal paragraphs or financial shortages.