Reengineering Public Excellence in Oman: Toward a Digitally Enabled, Sustainability‐Driven Future

This study examines the implementation of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model in Omani public institutions by analytically integrating digital and sustainability capabilities (DSC) as core enabler extensions, rather than treating them as external agendas. The paper situates institutional excellence within Public Administration and Development (PAD) debates. The study identifies a core governance mechanism: the capability–outcome translation gap. In this gap, stronger managerial capacity does not automatically generate greater public value, legitimacy, or societal outcomes—particularly in hierarchical, reform‐oriented states. This finding aligns with PAD scholarship, which suggests that capacity‐building alone is insufficient without participatory feedback and outcome‐focused accountability. A context‐specific conceptual model is developed, embedding DSC within EFQM enablers and theorising middle‐management engagement and process adaptation as mediating pathways. The study uses a convergent mixed‐methods design. It combines a stratified survey of 200 supervisory employees from 10 government entities with twelve semi‐structured interviews of senior administrators. The findings show a two‐speed reform. Enabler domains, especially Partnerships & Resources ( M  = 3.88/5, 77.6%) and Leadership ( M  = 3.72, 74.4%), are relatively mature. By contrast, Employee Results ( M  = 3.29, 65.8%) and Societal Results ( M  = 3.35, 67.0%) lag. The multivariate results—not causal claims—indicate that DSC amplifies the link between strategy and results. However, this relationship is moderated by entity type and managerial level. Qualitative evidence points to four reasons for the gap: proceduralism, fragmented data systems, weak participation from middle management, and an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitment that remains rhetorical rather than operational. The study engages with PAD scholarship by specifying the capability–outcome translation gap as a governance mechanism and by showing how indigenous public‐value traditions (e.g.,  shura ) may anchor excellence reforms in the Global South. Practically, an evidence‐based roadmap—participatory leadership, data‐governance compacts, operationalised ESG metrics, and middle‐management empowerment—is presented and explicitly tied to empirical signals, aligned with Oman Vision 2040. Limitations include the cross‐sectional design and the supervisory‐level sample; future longitudinal and frontline‐inclusive research is warranted.