Understanding how the public sector organises and controls the outsourcing of human services
Year: 2021
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Public sector organisations (PSOs) outsource a range of activities, including human services such as health and social care. Transaction cost economic (TCE) theory suggests human services are difficult to contract over due to high asset specificity, uncertainty and frequency of transactions; the way human services are organised and controlled is also likely to be affected by probity requirements. The inter-organisational management control literature suggests relational control strategies – strategies that are nimble and adaptive – are best suited to activities of low contractibility; yet, where probity requirements are high, bureaucratic control strategies may be more appropriate. Given this tension, the thesis explains how the public sector can organise and control the outsourcing of low contractible human services. Using a qualitative case study of the outsourcing of primary health care services by the Australian Government, I use an abductive approach to explain how PSOs moderate the tension between low contractibility and probity when outsourcing human services.
Author: Shona Bates
Language: English
Subfield: Management Information Systems
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3203348650