Original
Developing a power perspective on public service contracting: evidence from Scotland’s homelessness sector
Abstract
Power dynamics in cross-sector partnerships remain underexplored, despite well-recognized power disparities between partners. Responding to calls for greater attention to power, this study uses Scotland’s homelessness sector as an empirical setting to develop a power perspective on public service contracting. Drawing on Lukes’ three-dimensional framework, it shows how decision-making, non-decision-making, and ideological power are exercised through contracting arrangements and how these dynamics shape non-profit strategies and operations. The study advances public service contracting theory by reconceptualizing contracting not merely as a technical instrument for service delivery but as a governance system that institutionalizes and reinforces power asymmetries.
中文
发展公共服务合同外包的权力视角：来自苏格兰无家可归者服务领域的证据
摘要
跨部门伙伴关系中的权力动态仍未被充分探讨，尽管伙伴之间公认存在权力不对等。为回应更多关注权力的呼吁，本研究以苏格兰无家可归者服务领域作为实证场景，发展一种关于公共服务合同外包的权力视角。借助卢克斯的三维框架，研究展示了决策、非决策和意识形态权力如何通过合同安排得以行使，以及这些动态如何塑造非营利组织的战略与运营。本研究通过将合同外包重新概念化，即不仅是服务提供的技术工具，而且是使权力不对称制度化并加以强化的治理体系，从而推进了公共服务合同外包理论。
关键词
公共服务合同外包、权力视角、跨部门伙伴关系、非营利组织、无家可归者服务、苏格兰、治理、卢克斯三维权力观