Effect of governance models on enhancing water service delivery

Abstract

Purpose -The ownership of waterworks is topical in many countries and especially developed countries seem to speak for public ownership instead of private ownership. This paper attempts to provide a new view of the debate between public and private ownership by presenting three public governance models and comparing them in the light of waterworks performance. Design/methodology/approach -The research is qualitative in nature and presents SWOT analyses of three different public governance models used in the Finnish water sector. Empirical evidence was collected mainly through interviewing Finnish waterworks managers. Findings -The results indicate that there are clear differences between the autonomy and transparency of the most common public governance models. Reforming waterworks organised as municipal units into municipal-owned enterprises and municipal-owned companies is considered a good option compared to, for example, privatisation or outsourcing. Practical implications -According to this study, restructuring appears to increase business orientation, improve accuracy in bookkeeping and, in some cases, increase transparency. The selection of the right governance model also provides opportunities for institutional investors. Originality/value -While previous research has concentrated on comparing public and private ownership, this paper presents and discusses three public governance models and what kind of opportunities they present to public service provision.

Effects of Public Expenditure Management Practices on Service Delivery in the Public Sector: The Case of District Assemblies in Ghana

“…Study results indicated that out of those who reported that there were laid down procedures and policies to guide the expenditure management practices, 85 percent indicated that the policies were uniform to all District Assemblies. This finding is contrary to the results by Herrala and Haapasalo (2012) who established that local governments often lacked standardized public expenditure management policies, and that jeopardize the effectiveness of the DAs" payments procedures.…”

“…Further, Herrala and Haapasalo (2012) have contended that local governments often lack good public expenditure management systems to assist their tax and budget choices due to the general belief that firms can deliver goods and services more efficiently and at lower cost than the public sector, when operating in competitive markets. Further empirical evidence relevant to the link between public expenditure management and service delivery is by Uchimura (2012).…”

“…These systemic interactions are indicated by arrows from the systems theory to the other theories (new public management theory, transaction cost, principal agency and allocative efficiency). Several authors (including Lee, 2012;Herrala & Haapasalo, 2012;Hwang & Choi, 2012;Klievink & Janssen, 2009;Osborne, 2009) have noted that, the numerous models being used in explaining and understanding public financial management and service delivery are dynamic and call for innovations for improving service delivery to the citizens. The conceptual framework of this study is a contribution towards this end.…”

Transparency as transparagency—New “meaning” for new contexts

“…It will nevertheless be performed to prove the mentioned statement and to give some pointers on contents in which the authors saw transparency connected to different public governance models. Among the mentioned 435 papers that were analyzed, only (a) nine (Brown, Waterhouse, & Flynn, ; Bundschuh‐Rieseneder, ; Çetin, ; Flinders, ; Navarro Galera & Rodríguez Bolívar, ; Newberry & Pallot, ; Pilcher, ; Schneider & Sadowski, ; Vigoda‐Gadot & Meiri, ) address transparency in connection with the NPM, (b) five connect good governance and transparency (Bundschuh‐Rieseneder, ; Buteau‐Duitschaever, McCutcheon, Eagles, Havitz, & Glover, ; P. F. J. Eagles et al, ; P. Eagles, Havitz, McCutcheon, Buteau‐Duitschaever, & Glover, ; Pasape, Anderson, & Lindi, ), and (c) only two (Herrala & Haapasalo, ; Schneider & Sadowski, ) connect transparency with other/hybrid models of government.…”

Corporate governance practices and outcomes in social enterprises in the UK

“…The governance of firms, and particularly the role of the board and its impact on performance, continues to attract the interest of researchers (Nicholson and Kiel, 2004;Herrala and Haapasalo, 2012). Monks and Minow (1995:1) describe corporate governance as 'the relationship among various participants in determining the direction and performance of a corporation'.…”