Editorial Overview: Symposium on Mixed and Hybrid Models of Public Service Delivery

Abstract

This symposium presents research from different contexts to improve our collective understanding of a variety of aspects of mixed forms of service delivery be they mixed contracting at the level of the market (which is more common in the US), or mixed management and ownership at the level of the firm (which is more common in Europe).The papers included in this special issue examine the factors that give rise to mixed forms of service delivery (e.g. economic and fiscal stress, regulatory flexibility, geography, management) and how these factors impact their design and operation.Papers also explore the performance of mixed forms of service delivery relative to more conventional arrangements like contracted or direct service delivery. The papers contribute to a better theoretical and conceptual understanding of mixed/hybrid forms of services delivery.

Municipalities’ Choices of Service Delivery Modes: The Influence of Service, Political, Governance, and Financial Characteristics

“…Future research can also take additional proxies for embracing a certain governance logic into account, such as (for example) the elements of PPA, NPM, and NPG that Blokker et al (2014) have focused on. Fifth, other local services can be analyzed, as it would be interesting to investigate the issue of mixed and hybrid delivery modes, where organizations are owned jointly by a municipality and a private firm (Bel et al 2014). As far as we know, however, empirical information on these delivery modes is currently lacking for the Netherlands, but they can be important for complex contracts in construction and infrastructure, as shown by Brown et al (2016).…”

Impact of Product Characteristics and Market Conditions on Contract Type: Use of Fixed-Price Versus Cost-Reimbursement Contracts in the U.S. Department of Defense

“…For example, one school of thought focuses on market characteristics and argues that a principal managerial responsibility is to "manage the market" to engender competition (e.g., Brown & Potoski, 2004;Girth, Hefetz, Johnston, & Warner, 2012;. A related school of thought encourages purchasing governments to engage in joint or mixed delivery to stimulate competition between public and private providers (Bel, Brown, & Warner 2014;Hefetz, Warner, & Vigoda-Gadot, 2014) or to encourage relational or collaborative partnerships between the two (Bel & Fageda, 2011;Bel, Hebdon, & Warner, 2007). A third variant recommends performance management and incentives as a managerial tool to encourage successful contract outcomes Girth, 2014;Hefetz & Warner, 2004).…”

Wickedness will not wait: climate change and public management research

“…This is also highly relevant here, since public authorities tackling climate change will need to work in co-operation with a wide range of other stakeholders, both in the for-profit private sector and non-profit 'civil society'organizations (e.g. Agranoff, 2007;Bel et al, 2014;Koppenjan and Klijn, 2004;Klijn, 2008).…”