Varia Ranah - Sorotan Ilmiah Perkhidmatan Awam

334 Varia Ranah: Sorotan Ilmiah Perkhidmatan Awam between 1960 and 1993 and drew several conclusions. First, while there was a sharp increase in the literature beginning in 1980, a lack of successful, proven strategies remained. Second, ambiguity about the results of many successions and succession planning methods still existed. Finally, further exploration was necessary to determine the factors and strategies in successful transitions. While Kesner and Sebora noted that most of the studies had focused on the origin of the successor and the consequences of the succession, they concluded that this period was only the beginning of a comprehensive study of succession planning (Kesner and Sebora, 1994). Schall (1997) echoed their lament about the lack of literature, particularly in the public sector. She noted that serious study of succession planning in the public sector only began in 1992. Since then, most literature had focused on the transition of the chief executive officer, where Schall noted an overall lack of focus on successful transition at the agency level and suggested this was “an area for future research” (Schall, 1997). In the course of this research, it was noticed that Kesner and Sebora found only three studies of transition in the public sector, and all of it involved universities. Santora and Sarros (1995) also found little conclusive data about transition in the public sector, and noted that much research was needed in this area. From these authors’ perspective, literature in the public sector leadership succession planning was scant because many leaders in these sectors believed that no one else was capable of leading the organization and because many public sector leaders had long tenures (Santora and Sarros, 1995). Consequently, succession issues have only recently begun to come to the fore in this sector. Working with organizations, the authors above have seen the concern about pending retirements among higher public management leaders, and that had triggered an interest in public sector leadership succession planning.