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The purpose of this paper is to introduce the IJPSM special issue on marketization to clarify the conceptual foundations of marketization as a phenomenon within the public sector and gauge current marketization trends based on the special issue’s seven papers.

Conceptual clarification and cross-cutting review of seven papers analysing marketization in six countries in three policy areas at the level of local government.

Four ideal-types models are deduced: quasi-markets involving both provider competition and free choice for users; classical contracting out; benchmarking and yardstick competition; and public-private collaboration. Based on the review of the seven papers, it is found that all elements in all marketization models are firmly embedded but also under dynamic change within public service delivery systems. The review also identifies limitations and modifications of the four ideal-type models. A key trend is a move towards public-private collaboration and cross-sectorial and inter-organizational governance arrangements.

Continued research on marketization would benefit from development of more fine-tuned theoretical models which are sensitive to the realm of the dynamics within particular policy and institutional contexts.

Policy-makers should balance normative objectives against the experiences gained at the level of implementation.

The special issue shows that marketization still is a concurrent phenomenon which is driving substantial change in public service delivery systems as well as is under dynamic change itself.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the evolution of marketization in the public sector as a process of institutional change.

The paper is based on a study of marketization and gradual changes in the involvement of private contractors (as providers of maintenance services) in the municipal road and park sectors in Denmark over the past 30 years. The study draws theoretically on historical institutionalism as an interpretive framework and empirically on findings from earlier research, register data from municipal accounts as well as new survey data.

Marketization within the road and park sectors has historically taken place through gradual changes, in particular by processes of layering and displacement, which has added up to substantial transformations in both sectors. Transformations relate to the levels of private sector involvement, the purpose of using private contractors, the extent of competition and the design of contractual arrangements. The road sector has been a frontrunner in this marketization process, while the park sector increasingly has been “catching up.”

The paper contributes to the understanding of the historical development and differential pathways of marketization within the public sector. In particular, the study highlights how pathways of gradual change, spurred by the influx of long-term policy pressures, over time can lead to substantial institutional transformations.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the extent of, rationales for and 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 paper draws on four expert interviews and survey data gathered from park and road managers in Norwegian municipalities in 2015.

The study suggests that Norwegian municipalities primarily contract out park and road 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.

While the scope is limited to one country, Norway, future research may benefit from the theoretical perspectives, which have been used.

Policy guidelines should support a flexible use of various arrangements for service provision.

The dominating view among proponents of marketisation in the public sector 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 – even in “most likely” sectors such as park and road maintenance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges confronting Christian-based organisations operating in the employment services quasi-market in Australia. It focuses on the tensions that arise for these organisations as they endeavour to deliver services that reflect their distinctive mission and values, while remaining competitive in an environment characterised by the typical market values of commercialism, competition and compliance.

The data on which this paper is based has been derived from 48 semi-structured interviews with church leaders, senior managers and frontline staff in four Christian-based organisations.

The paper demonstrates that the Christian-based organisations under consideration are constrained in their ability to deliver a distinctive and holistic mission. The pressure to survive has resulted in these organisations emulating the business practices of others considered to be more successful in the field.

This paper draws attention to the commercialisation that has occurred within Christian-based organisations delivering privatised employment services. As markets are formed in other welfare areas, further research opportunities will present to examine how Christian-based organisations respond to the pressures that arise in these fields.

The findings from this study raise significant questions for Christian-based organisations. The particular dilemma being whether they should accept government funding in circumstances where their mission is likely to be compromised.

This paper serves to highlight, that despite their intentions to deliver a distinctive mission, Christian-based organisations are indistinguishable from other organisations delivering privatised employment services.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent contracting out practices has led to perceived resource cuts in the Swedish park and road sectors.

E-survey sent to managers in park and technical departments in the municipalities. Response rate: 39.7 percent.

Decreased costs were found in 25 percent of the responding road departments, in 20 percent of park departments. 49 percent of the road departments responded “no change” or “increase” (48 percent parks). Findings indicate that tendering practices tend to be most commonly centered in Swedish municipalities situated in the three metropolitan regions (Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö with suburbs), while such practices are not as common in mid-sized and rural municipalities. In addition, contracting out practices correspond with higher per capita budgets, not with smaller.

The research implications are that contracting out tend to occur “where the resources are,” while poorer municipalities either have to contract even if it is more expensive, or, contracting out is combined with other provision models. The limitation of the data are that it based on managers’ perceptions, while hard data have been impossible to map.

The uniform assumption that contracting out saves public resources need to be conditioned with context, and initial resources at hand. Contracting out is one option among several possible strategies, especially for mid-sized and smaller municipalities with small budgets.

The rationalities of local government procurements are bounded by the local market situations and local the budget capacities.

This is the first study of manager’s perceptions in the Swedish park and road contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the recent evolution of the employment services system of a Northern Italian region (Lombardy), which was planned according to principles inspired by quasi-markets and horizontal subsidiarity theories, with a focus on its design and implementation challenges. It aims to provide practical and theoretical insights for the design of public services’ governance systems that similarly feature public-private competition and/or cooperation and users’ freedom of choice.

The paper reviews and integrates previous empirical research analysing the programmes that are part of the recent evolution of Lombardy’s employment services system, in order to draw insights and lessons.

The paper suggests areas where closer scrutiny and related intervention is warranted on the part of the institution in charge of the system’s design (in this case the regional administration), especially in terms of appropriate design of incentive mechanisms for partnership creation, and adequate consideration of the equity implications of the chosen solutions.

The paper may be of interest to public officials aiming to implement systems with similar characteristics (public-private competition vs collaboration, users’ freedom of choice), in order to consider challenges and possible implications of their decisions during the planning phase. From a theoretical perspective, this case suggests that reliance on freedom and responsibility, both on the demand and the supply side, may not be adequate to reach the desired outcomes, and may produce negative equity implications. Focused partnerships may be more effective, but may experience similar shortcomings from the viewpoint of equity.

The purpose of this paper is threefold: to investigate why and how companies in voluntary networks engage in performance benchmarking; how requirements for a standardised chart of accounts are handled; and what the role of regulatory pressure is.

The paper is based on a longitudinal case study of an established group of six district-heating companies. The data sources are semi-structured interviews, observations and documents.

Both the forthcoming re-regulation of the district-heating sector and aims to improve efficiency were motivating the collaboration among the firms. An interpretation of common accounting rules can be negotiated in a collaborative network. The benchmarking model was embedded in routines internally in firms to facilitate learning and knowledge exchange, but it was also used to legitimise current operations.

As the paper is based on a case study of a specific project, the issues discussed in the paper should be further investigated in similar firms being exposed to regulation.

Harmonisation of accounting data are of immense importance when benchmarking performance, but discretion in interpretations of data and results must be handled. Co-existence with existing rules and procedures should be allowed.

The paper contributes to research understanding the role of collaboration in voluntary networks when benchmarking is implemented.

Different models have been adopted in England over time to organise public service delivery. The purpose of this paper is to explore contracting-out, a prevalent model of public service delivery in England, in relation to parks and roads maintenance delivery by examining private contractors’ performance according to local authority stakeholders.

Since the Conservative Government was in power during the 1980s, local authorities have been an arena for experimentation of contracting-out to private and other sectors. This paper provides a review of the academic and grey literature, and findings are presented from a large-scale online questionnaire survey (n=103) which was distributed to the relevant public realm managers in English local authorities.

The paper shows that contracting-out of parks and roads maintenance happens across the country in different ways. By and large, local authorities are satisfied with the performance of contractors, particularly as a response to economic constraints. Responsibilities, particularly for parks, are increasingly shared with non-governmental organisations, including community groups, although this is not reflected in budget distribution.

Despite the efforts, the response rate was relatively low (32 per cent), potentially due to the e-mail communication and online nature of the questionnaire.

The research provides empirical evidence about how contracting-out is currently delivering public services and how it has changed in recent years. The findings suggest that responsibilities (and to a lesser extent, budgets) are increasingly shared in England between different combinations of public, private, third and community sector stakeholders. This marks a shift away from in-house public sector delivery of parks and roads services.