Engaging Citizens in Government Contracting: A Theoretical Approach for the Role of Social Service Nonprofits

IF 2.7 Q2 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Perspectives on Public Management and Governance Pub Date : 2022-11-05 DOI:10.1093/ppmgov/gvac020

Gowun Park, Benjamin M. Brunjes

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引用次数: 4

Abstract

Outsourcing may lead public administrators to regard service recipients as customers to be satisfied rather than as citizens demanding access and empowerment. This research investigates the extent to which social service nonprofits might bridge the gap between citizenship and customer service to advance shared values and reinforce public institutions. Due to unique institutional and organizational features, such as value-driven commitments, restrictions to financial distribution, and special knowledge of under-represented groups, social service nonprofit contractors may offer distinct advantages over for-profit firms in contract management. We begin by analyzing the conflicting and complementary aspects of citizenship and customer service in democracy and identify the advantages of nonprofit contractors. Then, using the lenses of transaction cost economics and agency theory, we explore how nonprofits can mitigate contract risks while bolstering citizenship. We present several suggestions to guide public agencies and future scholarship on reasserting the importance of public values in modern governance.

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公民参与政府契约:社会服务非营利组织角色的理论研究

外包可能导致公共管理人员将服务接受者视为需要满足的客户，而不是要求获得和授权的公民。本研究调查了社会服务非营利组织在多大程度上可能弥合公民和客户服务之间的差距，以促进共享价值观和加强公共机构。由于独特的制度和组织特征，如价值驱动的承诺，对资金分配的限制，以及对代表性不足群体的特殊了解，社会服务非营利承包商在合同管理方面可能比营利性公司具有明显的优势。我们首先分析民主社会中公民身份和客户服务的冲突和互补方面，并确定非营利承包商的优势。然后，利用交易成本经济学和代理理论的透镜，我们探讨了非营利组织如何在增强公民意识的同时减轻合同风险。我们提出了一些建议，以指导公共机构和未来的学术在现代治理中重申公共价值的重要性。

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来源期刊

Perspectives on Public Management and Governance PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION-

CiteScore

5.30

自引率

6.20%

发文量