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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the question regarding how the similar implementation traditions in two countries (Czech Republic and Italy) have influenced the implementation of activation policies in the frame of similar reform trajectories (decentralization and marketization) but different modes of governance (multilevel vs hierarchical). Design/methodology/approach – Moving from a policy implementation studies approach, the paper assumes that substantive reforms and procedural reforms are mutually interdependent: activation policies often require changes in delivery structures while the changes in these structures influence the key substantive features of the activation policies. Further, implementation capacities and implementation traditions shape the real policies implemented. Findings – Although the two countries compared are different in terms of the mode of governance emerging from the governance reforms, in both cases the gaps in coordination and implementation capacities have led to several implementation failures in the field of activation policies. In poorly developed active labour market policy (ALMP) regimes, activation governance reforms (such as decentralization and marketization) may not be effective due to enduring implementation gaps. Originality/value – The paper is innovative since it develops a full-fledged comparative approach by focusing on two countries with similar implementation traditions which contrast with different modes of governance. Furthermore, the findings put implementation traditions and capacities at the heart of policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The paper deals with the question to what extent implementation conditions influence the profile of activation policies in the Czech Republic. In this way, it helps to clarify more general questions: how are broader objectives of these policies specified at the bottom level of implementation and why activation policies differ among countries, although guided by similar general objectives and principles. Design/methodology/approach - The findings are based on implementation case studies carried out at several local labour offices during the pilot stage and later during the routine stage of implementation of Individual Action Plans (lAPs). Findings - The paper shows that in the pilot stage of TAPs, the employability approach of enforced activation originated from the top-down and was adopted at the local level; however, in a fragmented way due to unfavourable implementation conditions (above all poor staffing and a lack of activation programmes). It follows from these very conditions that, in the routine stage, the programme has been dying away, despite being supported by legislation and programme documents. On the other hand, processes of institutional learning have been initiated owing to IAPs and, with the availability of new policy opportunities at the local level (brought about with projects funded from the ESF), policy coalitions and activation policies emerge from the bottom-up, giving rise to another model: capability approach of inclusion through participation. Practical implications - The findings are signalling to policy makers the necessity to control the implementation conditions at the national, as well as local level and to take the bottom-up processes of policy re-formulation into consideration. Originality/value - The analysis of the contradictions between the levels of policy-making and of the volatility of implemented policies emerging from specific implementation conditions represents the original contribution of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]