Unit cost behaviour in public sector outsourcing

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The aim of this paper is to create a framework in which the behaviour of unit costs in public sector outsourcing situations can be analysed. Design/methodology/approach -Explorative case study concentrating on theory building. Findings -Public sector organisations have not concentrated on analysing or modelling the unit cost behaviour in outsourcing situations. The lack of systematic cost management tools seems to lead to poorly managed and non-profitable outsourcing projects or ignorance of the possibilities of outsourcing. Practical implications -By utilising the results of the study, decision making regarding outsourcing in public sector could be based both on forecast cost development and on political judgement instead of relying only on political judgement without understanding cost behaviour. Originality/value -The paper introduces a new framework to be used as a tool in practice and to be validated in further studies.

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