TY - JOUR
T1 - Public sector commercial orientation and the social contract
T2 - A study of performance management in a non-competitive environment
AU - Andrew, Brian
AU - Rkein, Ali
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2012, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2012/11/16
Y1 - 2012/11/16
N2 - Purpose – The aim of this paper is to study the workings of commercial orientation, with a focus on performance management, in an environment that is characterised by limited competition between the public and the private sectors and a high level of government social responsibility. Design/methodology/approach – An interpretive case study approach is adopted for this study. It draws on primary data from interviews with key personnel in public sector organisations, and on secondary data from government publications such as annual reports and budget papers. Findings – This study shows that the market-based performance management system has failed to achieve its intended objectives because it was introduced in a socio-economic context that is hardly supportive of market management practices. The study shows that service delivery to the public has remained driven by social rather than economic imperatives. In the absence of other service providers, the Government's social responsibility towards its citizens has compelled service provision irrespective of the cost and reduced the cost-benefit relationship in having informative costing systems. Practical implications – Examining the workings of a market-based performance management system in a non-competitive setting provides evidence of the difficulty of achieving the intended benefits from the adoption of commercial practices in public sector agencies in some cases. Originality/value – Whereas extant literature focuses on the adoption of business practices in the process of public sector reform, no prior study has looked at this concept in a non-competitive market. Understanding the workings of the market practices in such an environment where contestability is limited is fundamental to policy makers and researchers.
AB - Purpose – The aim of this paper is to study the workings of commercial orientation, with a focus on performance management, in an environment that is characterised by limited competition between the public and the private sectors and a high level of government social responsibility. Design/methodology/approach – An interpretive case study approach is adopted for this study. It draws on primary data from interviews with key personnel in public sector organisations, and on secondary data from government publications such as annual reports and budget papers. Findings – This study shows that the market-based performance management system has failed to achieve its intended objectives because it was introduced in a socio-economic context that is hardly supportive of market management practices. The study shows that service delivery to the public has remained driven by social rather than economic imperatives. In the absence of other service providers, the Government's social responsibility towards its citizens has compelled service provision irrespective of the cost and reduced the cost-benefit relationship in having informative costing systems. Practical implications – Examining the workings of a market-based performance management system in a non-competitive setting provides evidence of the difficulty of achieving the intended benefits from the adoption of commercial practices in public sector agencies in some cases. Originality/value – Whereas extant literature focuses on the adoption of business practices in the process of public sector reform, no prior study has looked at this concept in a non-competitive market. Understanding the workings of the market practices in such an environment where contestability is limited is fundamental to policy makers and researchers.
KW - Australia
KW - Commercial orientation
KW - Cost information
KW - Non-competitive environment
KW - Performance management
KW - Social contract
KW - Social responsibility
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047221715&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/01140581211283887
DO - 10.1108/01140581211283887
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85047221715
VL - 24
SP - 292
EP - 313
JO - Pacific Accounting Review
JF - Pacific Accounting Review
SN - 0114-0582
IS - 3
ER -