The Growth of Private Security: Trends in the European Union

Steden, R. van; Sarre, Rick

doi:10.1057/palgrave.sj.8350052

Cited by 83 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(11 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…213-215). Much attention to private security outgrowth takes as its impetus the potentially deleterious effects that a departure from public policing creates (see Kennedy, 1995); there is a degree of trepidation about the expanding private security sector due to a perceived cost to the greater public good (van Steden and Sarre, 2007). However, the sense of unease fostered by the notion of an expanding private security sector is somewhat presumptuous.…”

Section: Previous Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiplicities of corporate security: Identifying emerging types, trends and issues

Lippert

Walby

Steckle

2013

Secur J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article explores types and topics in corporate security work by developing a new typology along five dimensions -public/private, in/outsource, oversight, work type, and certification/training and personnel selection. Using this typology reveals emerging trends (such as decommodification or insourcing), challenges (such as accountability and oversight) and benefits (a greater range of legal and other powers) related to corporate security. To illustrate this typology's value, as well as the limits of existing literature, the article considers findings from research on a nascent public, in-house, government form of corporate security: municipal government corporate security offices in Canada. We conclude by discussing decommodification or insourcing as well as expert certification and training and what these trends mean for scholarly debate about corporate security.

show abstract

Section: Previous Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiplicities of corporate security: Identifying emerging types, trends and issues

Lippert

Walby

Steckle

2013

Secur J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, it is predicted that the recent worldwide change towards private sector policy making is likely to continue. The freedom of movement of goods and services across Europe and the fl ow of the trade to other countries outside of the Union will increase in the future, and this will also involve security services (for example Van Steden and Sarre, 2007 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating private security sector market perceptions in Finland

Santonen

Paasonen

2012

Secur J

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The role and signifi cance of private security services have grown in many countries, since traditional tasks of security authorities are being outsourced. The goal of this study is to empirically evaluate the perceptions of the private security market in Finland. As a result, we identifi ed three different future scenarios for the Finnish private security market, including (1) international success via innovations, (2) success via domestic markets, and (3) pessimistic success vision. It appeared that 75 per cent of respondents saw the future of the Finnish private security market as positive, while respondents with managerial job position were more optimistic than workers. Moreover, the importance of a high-quality national-level educational system was emphasised. The market is assumed to be characterised by the dominance of large companies, while the attitude towards multi-service activities is divided by the respondents. Owing to homogeneous service offerings, the industry is expected to face strong price competition. There are also some doubts regarding the private sector ' s ability to handle new duties transferred from the public sector. Finally, technology will be a new business enabler, yet it will attract new rivals from other industries and challenge traditional actors in the security sector fi eld.

show abstract

“…Private security services have witnessed dramatic growth during the past few decades (De Waard [1]; Van Steden and Sarre [2]). At the same time, the duties of security guards have expanded and grown more complex [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the same time, the duties of security guards have expanded and grown more complex [1]. Even though there is some controversy over the exact size of the industry [2], it can be argued that private security services have become an integral part of almost every business and public sector organisation in Europe and elsewhere. Despite this remarkable growth, there is limited research into private security services.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much of the present literature on private security focuses on good governance practices or negative societal consequences (e.g., Zedner [3]; Prenzler and Sarre [4]; Van Steden and Sarre [5]). The increase in supply and demand in the industry and the causes of the growth have also been reviewed in detail [1,2]. There is a lack of studies focusing on private security services, however, from the managerial perspective and the customer's perspective, even though the need for such studies was recognised by Johnson [6] two decades ago.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Key drivers of customer value in business-to-business security guard services

Jähi¹

2011

WIT Transactions on the Built Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The private security industry has witnessed dramatic growth during the past few decades, but despite the remarkable growth, there is a lack of empirical studies focusing on the customer value of private security services. Much of the existing literature on private security focuses on the causes of its growth and on good governance practices, while very little attention has been paid to the actual process of value creation. The aim of this study is to deepen the understanding of private security services by exploring value creation of security guarding from the customer's perspective, i.e., the actual benefits and sacrifices as well as the customer-relationship aspects perceived by the customer. The study is based on open-ended interviews (n=15) with business-to-business customers of three security service providers. The study follows the paradigm of social constructionism and an active interview approach. The key drivers of customer value are presented as a result of a qualitative thematic analysis. The findings of the study reveal that customer value is centred on two main themes: guarding services as a guarantee for security and guarding services as professional business-to-business services. In total, nine value drivers that influence customer value are identified. In the first theme, they are reactivity, reliability, presence and personal characteristics. In the second theme, they are balance between duties, communication, relationship management practices, and time and effort. As a conclusion, the study argues that security guard services should not only be evaluated in relation to crime prevention and security provision but take into consideration all the security guards' duties, including, e.g., customer service and housekeeping. A new term security-service dilemma is also introduced to describe the difficulties of combining security-related duties with non-security duties in one service concept.

show abstract

The Growth of Private Security: Trends in the European Union

Cited by 83 publications

References 20 publications

Multiplicities of corporate security: Identifying emerging types, trends and issues

Multiplicities of corporate security: Identifying emerging types, trends and issues

Evaluating private security sector market perceptions in Finland

Key drivers of customer value in business-to-business security guard services

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About