68
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Accountability in outsourced public service delivery: an Australian study

, , &
Received 31 Oct 2023, Accepted 20 Jun 2024, Published online: 02 Jul 2024

References

  • ACFA (Aged Care Financing Authority). 2020. “Eighth Report on the Funding and Financing of the Aged Care Charity.” Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. Accessed November 15, 2020. https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/eighth-report-on-the-funding-and%20financing-of-the-aged-care-industry-july-2020.
  • ACQSC (Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission). 2023. About us, ACQSC Website. Accessed April 13, 2023. https://www.agedcarequalitygov.au.
  • Alexander, E. A., W. Phillips, and D. Kapletia. 2018. “Shifting Logics: Limitations on the Journey from ‘State’ to ‘Market’ Logic in UK Higher Education.” Policy and Politics 46 (4): 551–569. https://doi.org/10.1332/030557317X15052077338233.
  • Anguelov, L. G., and B. M. Brunjes. 2023. “A Replication of “Contracting Out: For What? With Whom?” Public Administration 101 (3): 1163–1197. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12921.
  • Barton, A. D. 2006. “Public Sector Accountability and Commercial‐In‐Confidence Outsourcing Contracts.” Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal 19 (2): 256–271. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570610656114.
  • Bengtsson, M. 2016. “How to Plan and Perform a Qualitative Study Using Content Analysis.” Nursing Plus Open 2:8–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.npls.2016.01.001.
  • Blomqvist, P., and U. Winblad. 2022. “The Impact of Accountability Deficit on Agency Performance Regime.” Public Management Review 24 (2): 233–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2020.1817530.
  • Boland, R. J., and R. V. Tenkasi. 1995. “Perspective Making and Perspective Taking in Communities of Knowing.” Organization Science 6 (4): 350–372. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.6.4.350.
  • Bovens, M. 2010. “Two Concepts of Accountability: Accountability As a Virtue and Accountability As a Mechanism.” West European Politics 33 (5): 946–967. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2010.486119.
  • Bowker, G. C., and S. L. Star. 1999. Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  • Braun, V., and V. Clarke. 2006. “Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology.” Qualitative Research in Psychology 3 (2): 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
  • Brown, L. K., and E. Troutt. 2004. “Funding Relations Between Nonprofits and Government: A Positive Example.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 33 (1): 5–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764003260601.
  • Cameron, W. 2004. “Public Accountability: Effectiveness, Equity, Ethics.” Australian Journal of Public Administration 63 (4): 59–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8500.2004.00402.x.
  • Carlile, P. R. 2002. “A Pragmatic View of Knowledge and Boundaries: Boundary Objects in New Product Development.” Organization Science 13 (4): 442–455. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.13.4.442.2953.
  • Carlile, P. R. 2004. “Transferring, Translating, and Transforming: An Integrative Framework for Managing Knowledge Across Boundaries.” Organization Science 15 (5): 555–568. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1040.0094.
  • Cochrane, S. F., A. L. Holmes, and J. E. Ibrahim. 2023. “Progressing Towards a Freer Market in Australian Residential Aged Care.” Social Policy & Society 22 (1): 69–93. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746421000786.
  • Connolly, C., and N. Hyndman. 2004. “Performance Reporting: A Comparative Study of British and Irish Charities.” The British Accounting Review 36 (2): 127–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2003.10.004.
  • Connolly, C., N. Hyndman, and C. Cordery and Rowena Sinclair. 2013. “Charity Accountability in the UK: Through the Eyes of the Donor.” Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management 10 (3/4): 259–278. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-02-2013-0006.
  • Cortis, N., and I. Lee. 2019. “Assessing the Financial Reserves of Social Service Charities Involved in Public Service Delivery.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 48 (4): 738–758. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764018815619.
  • Costa, E., G. Da, and G. Silva. 2019. “Nonprofit Accountability: The Viewpoint of the Primary Stakeholders.” Financial Accountability & Management 35 (1): 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12181.
  • Cummings, L., M. Dyball, and J. Chen. 2010. “Voluntary Disclosures as a Mechanism for Defining Entity Status in Australian Not‐For‐Profit Organisations.” Australian Accounting Review 20 (2): 154–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1835-2561.2010.00088.x.
  • Dhanani, A., and C. Connolly. 2012. “Discharging Not‐For‐Profit Accountability: UK Charities and Public Discourse.” Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal 25 (7): 1140–1169. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513571211263220.
  • DOHA (Australian Department of Health and Aging). 2011. 2010-2011 Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act 1997, Canberra: DOHA. Accessed August 23, 2021. https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2012-01/apo-nid27866.pdf.
  • Dowdle, M. W. 2017. “Public Accountability: Conceptual, Historical and Epistemic Mappings.” In Regulatory Theory: Foundations and Applications, edited by P Drahos, 197–215. Canberra: ANU Press.
  • Ebrahim, A. 2003a. “Accountability in Practice: Mechanisms for NGOs.” World Development 31 (5): 813–829. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(03)00014-7.
  • Ebrahim, A. 2003b. “Making Sense of Accountability: Conceptual Perspectives for Northern and Southern Nonprofits.” Nonprofit Management and Leadership 14 (2): 191–212. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.29.
  • Ebrahim, A. 2010. “The Many Faces of Nonprofit Accountability.” In The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, edited by David O Renz D and Robert D Herman, 101–121. USA: John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken Publishers.
  • Farneti, F., and D. W. Young. 2008. “A Contingency Approach to Managing Outsourcing Risk in Municipalities.” Public Management Review 10 (1): 89–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719030701763211.
  • Fine, M., and B. Davidson. 2018. “The Marketisation of Care: Global Challenges and National Responses in Australia.” Current Sociology 66 (4): 503–516. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392118765281.
  • Furneaux, Craig, and R. Neal. 2015. “Nonprofit Service Delivery for Government: Accountability Relationships and Mechanisms.” In Performance Management in Nonprofit Organisations: Global Perspectives, edited by Zahirul Hoque and Lee Parker, 207–232. USA: Routledge.
  • Furneaux, C., and N. Ryan. 2014. “Modelling NPO-Government Relations: Australian Case Studies.” Public Management Review 16 (8): 1113–1140. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2014.895030.
  • Gebreiter, F., and N. N. Hidayah. 2019. “Individual Responses to Competing Accountability Pressures in Hybrid Organisations: The Case of an English Business School.” Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal 32 (3): 727–749. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-08-2017-3098.
  • Guba, Egon, and L. Yvonna. 1994. “Competing Paradigms in Qualitative Research.” In Handbook of Qualitative Research, edited by N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Loncoln, 163–194. USA: Sage Publications.
  • Han, Y. 2020. “The Impact of Accountability Deficit on Agency Performance: Performance -Accountability Regime.” Public Management Review 22 (6): 927–948. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1679237.
  • Han, Y., and S. Y. Tang. 2022. “How Quality Reporting Reduces Accountability Deficit and Overload.” Public Management Review 24 (12): 2079–2100. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2021.1963823.
  • Hathaway, J., and S. Askvik. 2021. “A Typology of Institutional Logics for Public Accountability Organizations in Zambia.” International Journal of Public Administration 44 (4): 269–279. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2019.1709078.
  • Healy, J. 2002. “The Care of Older People: Australia and the United Kingdom.” Social Policy and Administration 36 (1): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9515.00266.
  • Jørgensen, T. B., and B. Bozeman. 2002. “Public Values Lost? Comparing Cases on Contracting Out from Denmark and the United States.” Public Management Review 4 (1): 63–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616670110101681.
  • Karaba, F., J. K. Roehrich, S. Conway, and J. Turner. 2023. “Information Sharing in Public-Private Relationships: The Role of Boundary Objects in Contracts.” Public Management Review 25 (11): 2166–2190. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2022.2065344.
  • Kendig, H., and S. Duckett. 2001. “Australian Directions in Aged Care: The Generations of Policies for Generations of Older People. Australian Health Policy Institute at the University of Sydney.” Accessed October 9, 2021. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225093231_Australian_Directions_in_Aged_Care_The_Generation_of_Policies_for_Generations_of_Older_People.
  • King, D., S. Svensson, and Z. Wei. 2017. “Not Always a Quick Fix: The Impact of Employing Temporary Agency Workers on Retention in the Australian Aged Care Workforce.” Journal of Industrial Relations 59 (1): 85–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022185616673867.
  • Kingston, K. L., C. Furneaux, L. de Zwaan, and L. Alderman. 2019. “From Monologic to Dialogic: Accountability of Nonprofit Organisations on Beneficiaries Terms.” Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal 33 (2): 447–471. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-01-2019-3847.
  • Lee, S. 2022. “When Tensions Become Opportunities: Managing Accountability Demands in Collaborative Governance.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 32 (4): 641–655. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muab051.
  • Lu, J., J. Shon, and P. Zhang. 2020. “Understanding the Dissolution of Nonprofit Organizations: A Financial Management Perspective.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 49 (1): 29–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764019872006.
  • Lyons, M. 2003. “Improving Government-Community Sector Relations.” Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government 9 (1): 7–20.
  • Mulgan, R. 1997. “Contracting Out and Accountability.” Australian Journal of Public Administration 56 (4): 106–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8500.1997.tb02493.x.
  • Mulgan, R. 2000. “Accountability’: An Ever‐Expanding Concept?” Public Administration 78 (3): 555–573. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9299.00218.
  • Mulgan, R. 2002. “Public Accountability of Provider Agencies: The Case of the Australian ‘Centrelink.” International Review of Administration Sciences 68 (1): 45–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852302681003.
  • Pruzan, P. 1998. “From Control to Values-Based Management and Accountability.” Journal of Business Ethics 17 (13): 1379–1394. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006079110633.
  • RCACQS (Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality & Safety). 2021. “RCACQS Final Report (Care, Dignity & Respect, Volume 1: Summary & Recommendations).” RCACQS. Accessed March 10, 2021. https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/final-report.
  • Roberts, J. 1991. “The Possibilities of Accountability.” Accounting, Organisations and Society 16 (4): 355–368.
  • Romzek, B. S., and M. J. Dubnick. 1987. “Accountability in the Public Sector: Lessons from the Challenger Tragedy.” Public Administration Review 47 (3): 227–238. https://doi.org/10.2307/975901.
  • Seal, W. 2004. “Towards an Enabling Research Agenda for the Accounting/Contracting Nexus.” Accounting Forum 28 (4): 329–348.
  • Sinclair, A. 1995. “The Chameleon of Accountability: Forms and Discourses.” Accounting, Organizations & Society 20 (2–3): 219–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/0361-3682(93)E0003-Y.
  • Star, S. L. 1989. “The Structure of Ill-Structured Solutions: Boundary Objects and Heterogeneous Distributed Problem Solving.” In Readings in Distributed Artificial Intelligence, edited by M. Huhns and L. Gasser, and Morgan Kaufman, 37–54. Menlo Park, CA: Publishers.
  • Star, S. L. 2010. “This Is Not a Boundary Object: Reflections on the Origin of a Concept.” Science, Technology, & Human Values 35 (5): 601–617. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243910377624.
  • Star, S. L., and J. R. Griesemer. 1989. “Institutional Ecology, ‘Translations’ and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907-39.” Social Studies of Science 19 (4): 387–420. https://doi.org/10.1177/030631289019003001.
  • Urquhart, C. 2013. Grounded Theory for Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
  • Werner, E. 1989. “Cooperating Agents: A Unified Theory of Communication and Social Structure.” In Distributed Artificial Intelligence, edited by E. L. Gasser and M. Huhns, 3–36. USA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
  • Xerri, M., Y. Brunetto, and B. Farr‐Wharton. 2019. “Support for Aged Care Workers and Quality Care in Australia: A Case of Contract Failure?” Australian Journal of Public Administration 78 (4): 546–561. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12379.
  • Young, D. R. 2000. “Alternative Models of Government-Nonprofit Sector Relations: Theoretical and International Perspectives.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 29 (1): 149–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764000291009.
  • Young, S., and M. S. Macinati. 2012. “Health Outsourcing/Backsourcing: Case Studies in the Australian and Italian Health Sector.” Public Management Review 14 (6): 771–794. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2011.642627.
  • Zhai, R. L., J. Watson, D. Gilchrist, and R. Newby. 2017. “Non-Profit Vulnerability: An Exploratory Study.” Financial Accounting & Management 33 (4): 373–390. https://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12129.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.