Risk management practices in the Italian public sector

Recently, the introduction of risk management practices in public sector was found to be most often determined either by a legislative intervention by Governments or by the need to improve the overall performance of public organizations. Though risk management entered the public sector, the way in which Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is introduced in public organizations is not explored in empirical research. Analyzing the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) case study through the theoretical lens of institutional perspective, the paper tried to respond to the call for more organizational studies of risk management. In particular, the nature and the organizational dynamics of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) were investigated through the concepts of risk rationalities, uncertainty experts and technologies. The results show that risk management is now embedded in ISTAT activities, processes, organizational culture and individual working behaviors confirming the opportunity both to improve organizational performance and to promote organizational learning