Abstract

Purpose outcomes of contracting out in the local road and park sectors in Norway. For understanding the use of contracting out in local governments, it highlights the relevance of the capability perspective in organisational literature as an alternative to the standard efficiency perspective.– The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the extent of, rationales for and Design/methodology/approach gathered from park and road managers in Norwegian municipalities in 2015.– The paper draws on four expert interviews and survey data Findings maintenance services when they do not have the capability to perform these services themselves. Cost concerns are also highlighted but of less importance. Moreover, lack of competition renders the use of contracting out as a potentially costly and less satisfying arrangement for organising service delivery.– The study suggests that Norwegian municipalities primarily contract out park and road Research limitations/implications research may benefit from the theoretical perspectives, which have been used.– While the scope is limited to one country, Norway, future Practical implications service provision.– Policy guidelines should support a flexible use of various arrangements for Originality/value suggests that contracting out to private contractors is undertaken to enhance economic efficiency compared to keeping service production in-house. This study suggests that this is not always the case– The dominating view among proponents of marketisation in the public sector– even in “most likely” sectors such as park and road maintenance.

Keywords

Efficiency; Parks; Contracting out; Local government services; Capability; Road maintenance

Published in

International Journal of Public Sector Management
2016, Volume: 29, number: 5, pages: 474-487

SLU Authors

• Randrup, Thomas

  • Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG9 Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation


UKÄ Subject classification

Public Administration Studies


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-02-2016-0023

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/80256