We adopted a case-study methodology. The case-study method was chosen because of the need to
answer “how” and “why” questions and to study the relationship between the context (i.e. a public
organization) and the phenomenon (i.e. the actors’ work practice) [29]. The chosen public organization
is an Italian non-profit Public Agency called INAIL – TheWorkers Compensation Authority. It pursues
several objectives: the insurance of workers involved in risky activities and the re-integration of work
accident victims to the labour market and social life. INAIL’s mission is to provide services to workers,
and thus it maintains direct contact with its ‘customers’ across the whole of Italy. This agency is
composed of a headquarter, where management and strategy are carried out, and a number of regional
branches, which provide services and operate mainly in the metropolitan areas, the chief provincial and
the sub-provincial towns.