The effect of EFQM self-assessments on action research performance: Lessons on how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of research on New Public Management

New Public Management (NPM) is based on the idea that public sector organisations can be made more effective by adopting management perspectives and methods more similar to those used in the private sector, but the economic and managerial rationality of NPM often conflicts with practitioner rationality, causing challenges in the implementation of NPM. Action research could be relevant for studying NPM implementation by searching for solutions that are seen as satisfying from both for the managerial and the practitioner perspective, but action research is a demanding type of research with high risk of failure. On the other hand, if one believes that NPM will improve organisational performance, then perhaps it will also improve action research performance. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the efficiency and effectiveness of action research can be improved by using the NPM logic of the EFQM self-assessment method. The question is theoretically investigated through the perspective of double-loop learning and empirically tested for eleven months in the context of using canonical action research (CAR) for implementing NPM in a Norwegian public sector organisation. Despite challenges in establishing and sustaining the CAR process, the EFQM approach proves helpful. Contributions to theory and practice is summarised in how the effect of EFQM self-assessments contributes in improving single-loop learning, double-loop learning and deutero-learning in action research.