Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date

2009-03-01

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

The American Review of Public Administration

The authors argue it is time to move beyond thinking of competition in social service contracting simply in terms of whether competitive tendering procedures are used. Although the procurement process is important, other factors should be examined as well. In particular, they look at how market consolidation and accountability are related to competitive procurement. Findings indicate that demand side—driven consolidation (i.e., governments purposely choosing to go with fewer and larger contracts in which lead agencies manage vendor networks) has both competitive and noncompetitive aspects that are in need of further study and that the competition—accountability link is more complex than generally assumed. Although, as expected, there is evidence that competition, in and of itself, leads to some contractor turnover, it does not appear that competitive vendors are held to higher standards than their noncompetitive counterparts regarding performance (as measured by adherence to contract terms).

Description

Keywords

competition, contracting, social services, accountability

Citation

Lamothe, M., & Lamothe, S. (2009). Beyond the Search for Competition in Social Service Contracting: Procurement, Consolidation, and Accountability. The American Review of Public Administration, 39(2), 164-188. doi: 10.1177/0275074008316557

Related file

Notes

Sponsorship