“Managing” wicked problems: Uncovering the roles of budgets, financial systems, and collaboration

• Author: Anna Thomasson,Irvine Lapsley,Ileana Steccolini
• Date: 01 May 2020
• Published date: 01 May 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12246

Received: 24 February2020 Accepted: 25 February2020

DOI: 10.1111/faam.12246

FOREWORD

“Managing” wicked problems: Uncovering the roles

of budgets, financial systems, and collaboration

The last few decades have witnessed a resurgence of interest in the emergence and persistence of wicked problems,

the ways in which they can be addressed, the roles of the public sector in facing them, as well as the implications for

accounting scholarship. In this Foreword, the concept of Wickedness is revisited to put it into context. The research

containedin this special issue is also discussed to elaborate upon and demonstrate the contribution made by this special

issue to the study of wicked problems. Finally, this Forewordoutlines possible future research avenues for scholars

engaged in the study of wicked problems.

1THE NATURE OF WICKED PROBLEMS

The concept of wicked problems is not new.The discussion on the nature of wicked problems and the related implica-

tions for public sector organizations and policymaking dates back to the 1970s (Head & Alford, 2015; Rittel & Web-

ber,1973). In their seminal article, Rittel and Webber distinguished between “tame” problems and “wicked problems.”

Although “tame” problems are those that can be clearly defined and for which solutions can be found, wicked prob-

lems are inherently complex, and often cut across different policy areas (Head & Alford, 2015; Rittel & Webber,1973).

Therefore, to manage wicked problems requires complexapproaches (Joosse & Teisman, 2020), involving actors from

different policy areas and sectors (Klijn & Koppenjan 2012; Rittel & Webber,1973). Interestingly, given their nature,

the very definition of “wicked”is often the outcome of political discussions and lengthy negotiations among stakehold-

ers (Head, 2019).

However, it is not only the definition of a wicked problem that requires negotiations. The diversea ndcontested

nature of wicked issues suggests that, as there is no one “right” definition of what a wicked problem is, similarly there

is no one specific solution promptly available. Partof the “wickedness” of wicked problems is related to there not being

one optimal solution, but several potential solutions (Rittel & Webber,1973), which are, similarly, subject to negotia-

tions. These negotiations are influenced not only by how the problem is defined, but also by the actors involved in the

process, their interest and value configurations, and the context in which they find themselves (Head, 2019). Classic

examples of current wicked problems, spanning across sectors and policy areas, relate to issues such as demographic

changes and movements, climate change and environmental sustainability,and poverty and inequality, many of which

are addressed in the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Given the latitude, scope, and impact of

such challenges, there have been various calls to increase our understanding of how wickedproblems are defined and

managed (Head, 2019), as well as to explore their implications in the accounting arena (Jacobs & Cuganesan, 2014;

Steccolini, 2019).

Responding to such calls, this special issue is a testimony to the variety of forms of “wickedness,” as well as to

the ways in which it is faced, coped with, governed, and managed in the public sector. Each paper offers an original,

novel contribution to our understanding of how wicked problems have been defined and managed differently by

stakeholders within different, specific contexts and institutional settings. The articles in this special issue represent a

wide variation of different types of wickedproblems, ranging from how to adjust prisoners to a life outside prison walls

and how to work with child victims, to how to manage issues related to climate change and natural disasters. Besides

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