Political patronage has become a notable concern in the South African public sector, often compared to a new epidemic because of its adverse effects on governance and public administration. This phenomenon involves by political leaders offering rewards and appointment people for key government positions and allocating resources to them based on their political loyalty rather than their abilities and qualifications. This intensifies corruption by fostering a culture in which competence is subordinate, resulting in inadequately qualified individuals assuming key positions and receiving benefits, thereby amplifying opportunities for unethical conduct. In turn, this practice undermines the effectiveness and integrity of public sector institutions. The purpose of this article is to offer a broader analysis and implications of political patronage and how it fuels corruption and governance in the South African public sector. This article employs a secondary research method through the review of existing literature to examine the nature of political patronage, its nexus with corruption and misgovernance in the public sector, drawing reference to contemporary, renowned corruption cases. This paper submits that overcoming these challenges necessitates a holistic approach that involves the professionalization of the public sector, robust measures to combat corruption, and improved transparency. The objective is to establish and promote a public service that emphasizes competence, responsibility, and the fulfilment of governance functions in order to serve the wider interests of citizens.

The purpose of this study is to analyze how the entrepreneurial mindset, social context, and entrepreneurial ambitions of university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have progressed over time in terms of starting their businesses. The research aims to investigate the evolution of the entrepreneurship mindset, considering the implementation of educational and governmental policies over the past decade to promote entrepreneurship among UAE university graduates. To collect primary data and evaluate the impact of the studied variables on the dependent variable “entrepreneurial ambitions,” a self-created questionnaire was used. The results reveal a positive correlation between personal context variables and entrepreneurial ambitions, as well as between personality traits and entrepreneurial ambitions. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the constructive effect of education, government policies, and capital availability on fostering entrepreneurial ambitions in the UAE.

Government performance means the results of government work. Its use is to evaluate government accountability, decision-making, efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and achievement of goals. Purpose: This paper aims to explore the understanding of performance measurement tools commonly used in government, the reasons for using them, and the implementation of performance measurement in Indonesia. Method: This study uses a meta-synthesis method, an integrative review approach from 2000–2021, in the Scopus database using the keywords measurement system, performance measurement, performance measurement government, measurement system government. Results and Discussion: The final sample consisted of 23 studies, and the results showed that the most commonly used performance measurement was the balanced scorecard. This is because the balanced scorecard is able to explain the vision, mission, strategy, results, and operational actions, so that it can achieve local government goals. Research implications: Insight into government performance measurement can be used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of various performance measurement tools so that the government can implement performance measurement tools that are more appropriate for its government. Originality/Value: This study offers an adaptation of existing methods to measure government performance more effectively. In addition, this study focuses on the context of developing countries, which can provide new contributions to the literature.

This study explores the attributes of service quality for overseas residents provided by island county governments, using the example of the Kinmen County Government’s service center in central Taiwan. This research aims to identify key service elements that can enhance the satisfaction of Kinmen overseas residents. Drawing upon the SERVQUAL scale and a comprehensive literature review, service quality is divided into five dimensions: “administrative service,” “life counseling,” “information provision,” among others, comprising 24 service quality elements. A total of 311 valid questionnaires were collected through a survey, and Kano’s two-dimensional quality and IPA analysis were used to classify service factors. The Kano two-dimensional quality analysis revealed that “employment counseling,” “entrepreneurship counseling,” and “setting up service counters at airports and terminals during festivals” belong to attractive quality. Nine elements were classified as “one-dimensional quality” and “must-be quality,” including “one-stop service,” “exclusive consultation hotline,” and “exclusive website reveals information.” Through Quality Function Deployment (QFD), service elements that align with Kano’s two-dimensional quality and IPA priority improvement were selected for detailed study, including “financial assistance in emergencies,” “subsidy for transportation expenses back home,” “subsidies for education allowances,” and “various subsidy application information.” Following expert discussions and questionnaire surveys, eight strategies for improving key service quality elements were identified. This research not only provides actionable insights for the Kinmen County Government but also offers valuable strategies that can be applied to similar contexts globally, where remote and rural populations require specialized governmental support.

Nowadays, urban ecosystems require major transformations aimed at addressing the current challenges of urbanization. In recent decades, policy makers have increasingly turned their attention to the smart city paradigm, recognizing its potential to promote positive changes. The smart city, through the conscious use of technologies and sustainability principles, allows for urban development. The scientific literature on smart cities as catalysts of public value continues to develop rapidly and there is a need to systematize its knowledge structure. Through a three-phase methodological approach, combining bibliometric, network and content analyses, this study provides a systematic review of the scientific literature in this field. The bibliometric results showed that public value is experiencing an evolutionary trend in smart cities, representing a challenging research topic for scholars. Network analysis of keyword co-occurrences identified five different clusters of related topics in the analyzed field. Content analysis revealed a strong focus on stakeholder engagement as a lever to co-create public value and a greater emphasis on social equity over technological innovation and environmental protection. Furthermore, it was observed that although environmental concerns were prioritized during the policy planning phase, their importance steadily decreased as the operational phases progressed.