How does the marketization of social service provision impact the practices of street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) towards their clients? To explore this question, we compare the markets for ambulatory long-term care for the elderly in Germany and Israel, which differ in the latitude of choice offered to clients and the intensity of state regulation. Based on 52 qualitative interviews with SLBs and managers of care providers, our study shows that in both countries, institutional contexts play a significant role in shaping street-level bureaucracy practices. We found that SLBs and managers in Israel engage in entrepreneurial behavior, whereas their German counterparts adopt administrative practices. By identifying these tendencies as responses to the respective welfare market characteristics, the article makes an important contribution to the field of comparative SLB research and furthers our understanding of the broader implications of the marketization of welfare services. Evidence for practice• This comparative study of long-term care providers in marketized institutional settings shows that different types of welfare markets impact the practices of street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) towards clients differently. • The findings from our qualitative interviews provide evidence that consumerdriven markets (Israel) encourage both SLBs and their managers to engage in entrepreneurial behavior. In contrast, our interviewees working in a state-driven market (Germany) do not behave entrepreneurially but have a strong focus on administrative practices. • State-driven markets do not necessarily lead to "moving away from" or "against clients." In fact, home care nurses and their managers in both countries use their own resources and "move towards clients" due to professional considerations and-in the Israeli case-business orientation.

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