Recent changes in service environments have changed the preconditions of their production and con... more Recent changes in service environments have changed the preconditions of their production and consumption. These changes include unbundling services from production processes, growth of the information-rich economy and society, the search for creativity in service production and consumption and continuing growth of digital technologies. These contextual changes affect city governments because they provide a range of infrastructure and welfare services to citizens. Concepts such as ‘smart city’, ‘intelligent city’ and ‘knowledge city’ build new horizons for cities in undertaking their challenging service functions in an increasingly cost-conscious, competitive and environmentally oriented setting. What is essential in practically all of them is that they paint a picture of cities with smooth information processes, facilitation of creativity and innovativeness, and smart and sustainable solutions promoted through service platforms. This article discusses this topic, starting from the nature of services and the new service economy as the context of smart local public services. On this basis, we build an overall framework for understanding the basic forms and dimensions of smart public services. The focus is on conceptual systematisation of the key dimensions of smart services and the conceptual modelling of smart service platforms through which digital technology is increasingly embedded in social creativity. We provide examples of real-life smart service applications within the European context.
International Proceedings of Management and Economy, IPEDR Vol. 84 (2015) , 2015
Many European metropolises started to introduce market based models in the provision of urban bus... more Many European metropolises started to introduce market based models in the provision of urban bus services in the early part of the 1990s. The aims of these reforms have been to increase economic efficiency and implement the policy goals of the European Single Market. This is a case study of market creation of metropolitan bus service in the Helsinki region in Finland. The aim of the study is to analyze the central events of the market creation and demonstrate the economic consequences of the introduction of competitive tendering. According to previous studies on competitive tendering, procurement agencies have been able to generate remarkable savings. The research findings of this case study are in line with the previous findings as the analyses demonstrated substantial savings on municipal expenditures. For example, in the first round of competing bids, the price levels of delivery costs of the regional bus services fell 33-34 percent. Competitive tendering has delivered savings many years, but as its ramification the operators of bus services have faced severe financial difficulties. Furthermore, the study also proves many unintended consequences such as the privatization and corporatization of municipal bus enterprises, distorted market structures, and strikes
undertaken by labor unions.
ABSTRACT This paper argues that justifying lack of productivity improvements in public services b... more ABSTRACT This paper argues that justifying lack of productivity improvements in public services by referring to Baumol’s Cost Disease (BCD) is conceptually confused, theoretically misspecified and empirically blind. BCD misconceptualizes public services as categorically distinct from manufactured goods and is based on a theory of productivity not directly applicable to many public services, therefore failing to recognize evidence of substantial scope for improving public services’ productivity. Analysis of the structural and behavioural unbundling of value creation and decomposition of professional skills in service provision leads this paper to conclude that public services are not as technologically non-progressive as BCD asserts.
This paper analyses the partnership-based outsourcing model of service transformation in USA loca... more This paper analyses the partnership-based outsourcing model of service transformation in USA local government, focusing on the city of Sandy Springs which became widely known for its large-scale ‘turnkey’ outsourcing of provision of its services in the mid-2000s. This city has been referred to in the literature as a special case not applicable to other countries, such as the UK, because of their very different contexts. However, there is now a public sector austerity context within which to reassess Sandy Springs’ use of turnkey outsourcing to achieve significant cost savings and improve services. The paper reports empirical research which it uses to derive insights for municipalities considering outsourcing. Those insights can help improve both policy and professional practice by outlining key issues for consideration when trying to ‘do more with less’ money.
This paper analyses the voucher concept. It considers different types of vouchers in the public a... more This paper analyses the voucher concept. It considers different types of vouchers in the public and private sectors, distinguishes between explicit and implicit vouchers, and develops both a general model and a local government model of vouchers. It also reviews arguments for and against vouchers, considers the characteristics and dimensions of vouchers and identifies the rights and responsibilities attached to
This paper discusses NPM-inspired public sector reforms in Finland and analyses bus services as a... more This paper discusses NPM-inspired public sector reforms in Finland and analyses bus services as an example. It seems that most of the reforms in OECD countries are framed by loosely defined NPM doctrine, thus emphasising such institutional arrangements and measures as downsizing, privatisation, corporatisation, outsourcing and competitive tendering. Nordic countries are not exceptions to this trend, even if they seem to adopt a kind of mixed strategy of traditional and NPM-inspired reforms. In this paper Finland is used as ...
Innovaatiojärjestelmän yksipuolinen kehittäminen muutamaa kasvukeskusta silmälläpitäen ei ole pit... more Innovaatiojärjestelmän yksipuolinen kehittäminen muutamaa kasvukeskusta silmälläpitäen ei ole pitkällä aikavälillä kestävä ratkaisu. Meillä onkin alettu keskustella alueellisen innovaatiopolitiikan tarpeellisuudesta. Esimerkiksi Talousneuvoston sihteeristön (2006: 178) laatimassa globalisaatioselvityksessä, jossa esitetään Suomen globalisaatiostrategian kehittämissuosituksia, pidetään erityisen tärkeänä, että innovaatioketju tavoittaa korkeakoulupaikkakuntien ulkopuolella sijaitsevat verraten pienetkin yritykset ja niistä ...
Innovative Trends in Public Governance in Asia, May 13, 2011
In this book we discuss innovations in public governance in Asian countries. Our approach is cont... more In this book we discuss innovations in public governance in Asian countries. Our approach is contextual, innovations being discussed in their societal, political and administrative contexts with a special focus on both conditions for innovativeness and innovations actually introduced in various Asian countries. The purpose of these innovations is to bring about radical governance improvements, promote citizen participation and utilize private sector organizations in the provision of public services. Innovativeness in Asian ...
University Partnerships for International Development, 2005
Good governance has become a prominent topic in the development agendas of national governments, ... more Good governance has become a prominent topic in the development agendas of national governments, regional institutions and international organisations. ere is a common understanding that democratic and good governance is an imperative for development. e absence of good governance has generally been perceived as a major cause of slow economic and social development wherever it occurs. us, it is only natural that good governance is seen as one of the key issues in promoting economic, political and social ...
Recent changes in service environments have changed the preconditions of their production and con... more Recent changes in service environments have changed the preconditions of their production and consumption. These changes include unbundling services from production processes, growth of the information-rich economy and society, the search for creativity in service production and consumption and continuing growth of digital technologies. These contextual changes affect city governments because they provide a range of infrastructure and welfare services to citizens. Concepts such as ‘smart city’, ‘intelligent city’ and ‘knowledge city’ build new horizons for cities in undertaking their challenging service functions in an increasingly cost-conscious, competitive and environmentally oriented setting. What is essential in practically all of them is that they paint a picture of cities with smooth information processes, facilitation of creativity and innovativeness, and smart and sustainable solutions promoted through service platforms. This article discusses this topic, starting from the nature of services and the new service economy as the context of smart local public services. On this basis, we build an overall framework for understanding the basic forms and dimensions of smart public services. The focus is on conceptual systematisation of the key dimensions of smart services and the conceptual modelling of smart service platforms through which digital technology is increasingly embedded in social creativity. We provide examples of real-life smart service applications within the European context.
International Proceedings of Management and Economy, IPEDR Vol. 84 (2015) , 2015
Many European metropolises started to introduce market based models in the provision of urban bus... more Many European metropolises started to introduce market based models in the provision of urban bus services in the early part of the 1990s. The aims of these reforms have been to increase economic efficiency and implement the policy goals of the European Single Market. This is a case study of market creation of metropolitan bus service in the Helsinki region in Finland. The aim of the study is to analyze the central events of the market creation and demonstrate the economic consequences of the introduction of competitive tendering. According to previous studies on competitive tendering, procurement agencies have been able to generate remarkable savings. The research findings of this case study are in line with the previous findings as the analyses demonstrated substantial savings on municipal expenditures. For example, in the first round of competing bids, the price levels of delivery costs of the regional bus services fell 33-34 percent. Competitive tendering has delivered savings many years, but as its ramification the operators of bus services have faced severe financial difficulties. Furthermore, the study also proves many unintended consequences such as the privatization and corporatization of municipal bus enterprises, distorted market structures, and strikes
undertaken by labor unions.
ABSTRACT This paper argues that justifying lack of productivity improvements in public services b... more ABSTRACT This paper argues that justifying lack of productivity improvements in public services by referring to Baumol’s Cost Disease (BCD) is conceptually confused, theoretically misspecified and empirically blind. BCD misconceptualizes public services as categorically distinct from manufactured goods and is based on a theory of productivity not directly applicable to many public services, therefore failing to recognize evidence of substantial scope for improving public services’ productivity. Analysis of the structural and behavioural unbundling of value creation and decomposition of professional skills in service provision leads this paper to conclude that public services are not as technologically non-progressive as BCD asserts.
This paper analyses the partnership-based outsourcing model of service transformation in USA loca... more This paper analyses the partnership-based outsourcing model of service transformation in USA local government, focusing on the city of Sandy Springs which became widely known for its large-scale ‘turnkey’ outsourcing of provision of its services in the mid-2000s. This city has been referred to in the literature as a special case not applicable to other countries, such as the UK, because of their very different contexts. However, there is now a public sector austerity context within which to reassess Sandy Springs’ use of turnkey outsourcing to achieve significant cost savings and improve services. The paper reports empirical research which it uses to derive insights for municipalities considering outsourcing. Those insights can help improve both policy and professional practice by outlining key issues for consideration when trying to ‘do more with less’ money.
This paper analyses the voucher concept. It considers different types of vouchers in the public a... more This paper analyses the voucher concept. It considers different types of vouchers in the public and private sectors, distinguishes between explicit and implicit vouchers, and develops both a general model and a local government model of vouchers. It also reviews arguments for and against vouchers, considers the characteristics and dimensions of vouchers and identifies the rights and responsibilities attached to
This paper discusses NPM-inspired public sector reforms in Finland and analyses bus services as a... more This paper discusses NPM-inspired public sector reforms in Finland and analyses bus services as an example. It seems that most of the reforms in OECD countries are framed by loosely defined NPM doctrine, thus emphasising such institutional arrangements and measures as downsizing, privatisation, corporatisation, outsourcing and competitive tendering. Nordic countries are not exceptions to this trend, even if they seem to adopt a kind of mixed strategy of traditional and NPM-inspired reforms. In this paper Finland is used as ...
Innovaatiojärjestelmän yksipuolinen kehittäminen muutamaa kasvukeskusta silmälläpitäen ei ole pit... more Innovaatiojärjestelmän yksipuolinen kehittäminen muutamaa kasvukeskusta silmälläpitäen ei ole pitkällä aikavälillä kestävä ratkaisu. Meillä onkin alettu keskustella alueellisen innovaatiopolitiikan tarpeellisuudesta. Esimerkiksi Talousneuvoston sihteeristön (2006: 178) laatimassa globalisaatioselvityksessä, jossa esitetään Suomen globalisaatiostrategian kehittämissuosituksia, pidetään erityisen tärkeänä, että innovaatioketju tavoittaa korkeakoulupaikkakuntien ulkopuolella sijaitsevat verraten pienetkin yritykset ja niistä ...
Innovative Trends in Public Governance in Asia, May 13, 2011
In this book we discuss innovations in public governance in Asian countries. Our approach is cont... more In this book we discuss innovations in public governance in Asian countries. Our approach is contextual, innovations being discussed in their societal, political and administrative contexts with a special focus on both conditions for innovativeness and innovations actually introduced in various Asian countries. The purpose of these innovations is to bring about radical governance improvements, promote citizen participation and utilize private sector organizations in the provision of public services. Innovativeness in Asian ...
University Partnerships for International Development, 2005
Good governance has become a prominent topic in the development agendas of national governments, ... more Good governance has become a prominent topic in the development agendas of national governments, regional institutions and international organisations. ere is a common understanding that democratic and good governance is an imperative for development. e absence of good governance has generally been perceived as a major cause of slow economic and social development wherever it occurs. us, it is only natural that good governance is seen as one of the key issues in promoting economic, political and social ...
Uploads
undertaken by labor unions.
undertaken by labor unions.