Refereed article in conference proceedings (A4)

First Steps towards Hybrid Forms of Service Provision in Municipalities




List of AuthorsSatu Aaltonen, Tanja Lepistö, Ulla Hytti

Editors-

Conference nameAnnual Conference of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Publication year2018

Book title *ISBE 2018 Conference Proceedings

ISBN978-1-900862-31-8

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/Publication/37023550


Abstract


Topic – In many western countries there is an ongoing move from progressive
public administration to new public management (NPM) and currently even further
towards new public governance (NPG). NPG entails increasing importance of
collaborative networks, more emphasis on the inter-organizational processes and
paying more attention on the citizen satisfaction. This transition brings along
also more hybrid forms of public service provision, a change in the governance
logics as well as the roles of different actors such as states, municipalities,
private companies and third sector organisations.



Aim – This paper aims to point out factors supporting and hindering the
early stages of a transition towards hybrid forms of service provision and New
Public Governance (NPG) in a municipality context.



Methodology – The context of our case study is development projects taking place in
two municipalities in Finland. Finland is currently undergoing the largest
top-down reform on the regional level administrative structures and practices
ever, which offers us a unique platform to study the social processes towards
hybridity and NPG.



Contribution – Even if there is a long history of studying hybridization, the focus
has seldom been on the process that leads to it. Our focus in this on-going
study is in the early phases of this cumbersome process, where both segregating
and blending mechanisms operate in tandem and create many kinds of tensions.



Implications for policy and
practice –
Public governance has been in a continuous flux
already some decades in parallel to the increase in austerity talk, consumerism
and structural changes in service provision. From a standpoint of
entrepreneurship it is important to understand these processes since public
governance outcomes and practices are creating the policy context and business
opportunities for SMEs and the role of businesses is changing as the process
proceeds.


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Last updated on 2022-23-02 at 10:30