Valentina Mele
Associate Professor

Biography
Valentina Mele is an Associate Professor at Università Bocconi and Associate Professor at SDA Bocconi School of Management.
Her research activities focus on organization and technological innovation in public organizations; governance, business-government relations, and cross-sector partnerships; international governance and international organizations. Her work has been published in high-impact journals, including the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration, Governance, the International Public Management Journal, the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Business Ethics and Public Management Review. Valentina has received several competitive individual grants, such as the Fulbright studentship and Fulbright scholarship, (CNR) National Research Council study grants. Her articles have received awards, including the International Geneva Award (2011 and 2016), the Best Published Paper, OMT Academy of Management (2016) “Highly cited articles from recent years in JPART,” Oxford University Press (2021).
She serves as the Senior Executive Editor of the Journal of Public Policy (Cambridge University Press). She sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review and Governance.
She has been an independent member of the Sustainability Advisory Board, the European Aluminum Association, an independent member and a member of the Sustainability Committee of the board of large companies and companies listed on the Milan stock market (SIAS, ASTM, Dussmann Italia).
At SDA Bocconi she has been head of and professor in several courses, including Public Governance, Business-government Relations, Corporate Citizenship, and International Organizations. She has taught participants in Executive programs in business, public management, health, and international organizations.
Valentina earned an MSc in Economics and Management of Government & International Organizations from Università Bocconi, a Master in Public Policy & Administration from Columbia University, and a PhD in Management from the London School of Economics. She is married with two children.
Recent Publications
- 2025
Bridging Global Mandates and Local Realities: Intermediary Clusters and Interorganizational Collaboration for International Development
CAPPELLARO, G., V. MELE, S. ANSARI, "Bridging Global Mandates and Local Realities: Intermediary Clusters and Interorganizational Collaboration for International Development", Organization Studies, 2025, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 157–185 - 2025
From Geneva to Dakar:Open System Orchestration for Grand Challenges
MELE, V., G. M. MALLARINO, M. I. RADIC, "From Geneva to Dakar:Open System Orchestration for Grand Challenges" in The 85th Annual Meeting of Academy of Management, July 25-29, 2025, Copenhagen, Denmark - 2024
Roundtable: How do We Connect Public Administration and Human Rights?
ROBERTS, A., W. RESH, R. BASU, G. ONYANGO, H. SULLIVAN, A. PECI, N. KAPUCU, R. SCHOMAKER, V. MELE, "Roundtable: How do We Connect Public Administration and Human Rights?", Perspectives on Public Management and Governance (PPMG), 2024, vol. 7, no. 1-2, pp. 1-12 - 2024
Issue Field Interaction In The Voluntary Carbon Market
MALLARINO, G. M., M. I. RADIC, V. MELE, "Issue Field Interaction In The Voluntary Carbon Market" in 84th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, August 9-13, 2024, Chicago, IL, United States of America - 2023
Telework in public organizations: A systematic review and research agenda
MELE, V., P. BELARDINELLI, N. BELLÉ, "Telework in public organizations: A systematic review and research agenda", Public Administration Review, 2023, vol. 83, no. 6, pp. 1649-1666 - 2023
Policy evaluation and international organizations
MELE, V., "Policy evaluation and international organizations" in Handbook of Public Policy Evaluation., Frédéric Varone, Steve Jacob, Pirmin Bundi (Eds.), Edward Elgar Publishing, chap. 18, pp. 285-298, 2023 - 2022
Le prospettive dello smart working nella PA: riflessioni e spunti
BARBIERI, M., V. MELE, F. VIDÈ, "Le prospettive dello smart working nella PA: riflessioni e spunti" in Reactive PA. Lezioni dalla Pandemia per il Cambiamento della Pubblica Amministrazione., G. Valotti (Ed.), Egea, chap. 9, pp. 239-255, 2022 - 2022
How to retain Millennials in public organizations? A comprehensive study on job, organizational, and personal resources
VIDÈ, F., L. MICACCHI, G. GIACOMELLI, M. BARBIERI, V. MELE, M. MICACCHI, "How to retain Millennials in public organizations? A comprehensive study on job, organizational, and personal resources" in IRSPM Conference 'Facing the future: Evolving social-political-administrative relations and the future of administrative systems', 19-22 April, 2022, (online) - 2022
Public Management in International Governmental Organizations
MELE, V., "Public Management in International Governmental Organizations" in Elgar Encyclopedia of Public Management., Kuno Schedler (Ed.), Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 117-120, 2022 - 2021
Corruption, Democracy, and Privately Financed Infrastructure
BERTELLI, A. M., V. MELE, E. F. WOODHOUSE, "Corruption, Democracy, and Privately Financed Infrastructure", Administration & Society, 2021, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 327–352
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Grants & Honors
Excellence in Research Award, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, 2022

