Government increasingly contracts out public functions to the private sector. While theory about contract performance management is abundant, there is little empirical evidence on contract performance. Additionally, the public management contract literature emphasizes management strategies to produce desired performance but largely disregards how the structure of ex post contract settings influences individual contract performance. In this dissertation, I develop theory and measures to assess how structural variables influence contract performance on quality dimensions. I focus on networked structures of exchange between contracted programs and government funders and the way exchange is situated in a larger environment. The empirical basis for my dissertation is a set of government funded residential services programs for delinquent youth. The outcome variable is a measure of program quality created by the government funder. Predictor variables include competition at the program and parent organization level and the overall presence of public and nonprofit programs in the contract network. I also examine the effects of organizational form on performance. Most programs are contracted to nonprofit and for-profit organizations with a small number of programs directly provided by government. The mixed market provides an opportunity to test existing theory about organizational form and performance. I use hierarchical linear models (HLM) and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to examine how structural variables influence performance. In the HLM analysis, I find some support for my hypotheses about structural predictors of performance. In the QCA analysis, I find that effects of organizational form are conditional upon structural variables. It appears that nonprofit and public programs perform well under a variety of conditions while for-profit programs are more likely to perform acceptably when they are constrained by structural factors like competition. This dissertation makes theoretical, empirical and practical contributions to the field of public management. Following recent, scholarly tradition, I examine the changing role of government and its increasing use of the nonprofit and for-profit organizations to deliver government services. I incorporate structural theory into the contract management literature and demonstrate the structure of contract settings influences performance. I also develop formal measures of competition in contract settings. I also find that HLM and QCA can be complementary analytical tools and provide a richer picture of causal processes when used on the same dataset.

The global marketplace has become highly integrated, and global competition is increasingly intense and dynamic. To be successful in this competitive and hostile environment, international firms must be able to foster and maintain successful cross-border inter-firm relationships. At the same time, service exports have remarkably emerged as a crucial component of international trade, underpinning the future growth and prosperity of national economies worldwide. Yet scholars and business practitioners alike have recognised the significant paucity of research on the performance of service exporters. Similarly, despite the recent growth in research interests in international relationship marketing, theoretical development in this area has failed to keep pace with the increase in both volume and magnitude of inter-organisational transactions across national borders. This study addressed the key research question of “What are the key factors driving the export performance of service firms?”, based on an integrated theoretical foundation comprising the resource-based view of the firm, transaction cost economics, and the relational exchange theory. The study took into account the potential role of: (1) organisational characteristics, (2) market characteristics, and (3) the governance mechanisms deployed by service firms in their management of cross-border relationships with their business clients. A multi-method research design was utilised for this research, including two main studies. An exploratory study was first conducted, involving 10 in-depth interviews with service exporters in South Australia. Drawing from the outcomes of the exploratory study and a review of the international services marketing and international relationship marketing literature, the researcher proposed a conceptual framework and a set of testable hypotheses. These hypotheses were then tested in the second research phase, in which the researcher conducted a self-administered mail survey, utilising both postal and online means. An effective response rate of 32.77%, or 254 usable responses, allowed the researcher to further analyse the data using the principles of structural equation modelling in AMOS. Thereby, the researcher identified 17 pairs of significant relationships between the variables. The research findings show that the performance of an export venture of a service firm is directly influenced by the size of the firm, their export experience, their managerial commitment, and the performance of the relationship with a major overseas client. Such relationship performance is determined by both contractual-based governance, including contractual complexity and contractual explicitness, and relational-based governance, a higher-order factor incorporating relationship trust, relationship commitment, information exchange, relationship flexibility and relationship harmony. In turn, these governance mechanisms are determined by various organisational and market characteristics. Whilst firm size, resource commitment, and assistance programs by home government influence the level of contractual complexity, contractual explicitness is determined by management commitment, competitive intensity, and the favourability of host government policies. Furthermore, relational-based governance is driven by the export experience of the firms, their managerial commitment, and the favourability of host government policies. The study contributes to advancing the scant international services marketing literature and draws further research attention to the international relationship marketing paradigm. With regards to international business practice, the study provides service exporters with an understanding on the potential role of organisational characteristics and market characteristics in their exporting success. Finally, a successful management of cross-border relationship management and governance mechanisms will also lead them to superior export performance. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1379910 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Business School, 2010

The global marketplace has become highly integrated, and global competition is increasingly intense and dynamic. To be successful in this competitive and hostile environment, international firms must be able to foster and maintain successful cross-border inter-firm relationships. At the same time, service exports have remarkably emerged as a crucial component of international trade, underpinning the future growth and prosperity of national economies worldwide. Yet scholars and business practitioners alike have recognised the significant paucity of research on the performance of service exporters. Similarly, despite the recent growth in research interests in international relationship marketing, theoretical development in this area has failed to keep pace with the increase in both volume and magnitude of inter-organisational transactions across national borders. This study addressed the key research question of “What are the key factors driving the export performance of service firms?”, based on an integrated theoretical foundation comprising the resource-based view of the firm, transaction cost economics, and the relational exchange theory. The study took into account the potential role of: (1) organisational characteristics, (2) market characteristics, and (3) the governance mechanisms deployed by service firms in their management of cross-border relationships with their business clients. A multi-method research design was utilised for this research, including two main studies. An exploratory study was first conducted, involving 10 in-depth interviews with service exporters in South Australia. Drawing from the outcomes of the exploratory study and a review of the international services marketing and international relationship marketing literature, the researcher proposed a conceptual framework and a set of testable hypotheses. These hypotheses were then tested in the second research phase, in which the researcher conducted a self-administered mail survey, utilising both postal and online means. An effective response rate of 32.77%, or 254 usable responses, allowed the researcher to further analyse the data using the principles of structural equation modelling in AMOS. Thereby, the researcher identified 17 pairs of significant relationships between the variables. The research findings show that the performance of an export venture of a service firm is directly influenced by the size of the firm, their export experience, their managerial commitment, and the performance of the relationship with a major overseas client. Such relationship performance is determined by both contractual-based governance, including contractual complexity and contractual explicitness, and relational-based governance, a higher-order factor incorporating relationship trust, relationship commitment, information exchange, relationship flexibility and relationship harmony. In turn, these governance mechanisms are determined by various organisational and market characteristics. Whilst firm size, resource commitment, and assistance programs by home government influence the level of contractual complexity, contractual explicitness is determined by management commitment, competitive intensity, and the favourability of host government policies. Furthermore, relational-based governance is driven by the export experience of the firms, their managerial commitment, and the favourability of host government policies. The study contributes to advancing the scant international services marketing literature and draws further research attention to the international relationship marketing paradigm. With regards to international business practice, the study provides service exporters with an understanding on the potential role of organisational characteristics and market characteristics in their exporting success. Finally, a successful management of cross-border relationship management and governance mechanisms will also lead them to superior export performance. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1379910 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Business School, 2010

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2016-04-12T14:09:52Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertação MPA_Pedro Azevedo Versão Final Biblioteca.pdf: 1685753 bytes, checksum: 3b7498a04026c99abceaaf714f62b10c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-12T14:09:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Dissertação MPA_Pedro Azevedo Versão Final Biblioteca.pdf: 1685753 bytes, checksum: 3b7498a04026c99abceaaf714f62b10c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-20 / Com o aprofundamento do fenômeno da globalização, o dilema estratégico fazer internamente ou buscar o mercado cresceu em importância no ambiente empresarial. Desde então, as empresas têm utilizado a estratégia de terceirização de vários processos de sua cadeia de valor, como parte da crença de que é impossível garantir padrões adequados de competitividade ignorando a necessidade de se centrar esforços nas atividades consideradas fins das suas operações. É nesse contexto que a Petrobras optou por terceirizar a atividade de manutenção de equipamentos estáticos em suas refinarias, o que consiste em realizar processos licitatórios para selecionar empresas para estabelecer parcerias de negócios, por meio da celebração de contratos de médio e longo prazos. Foi nesse cenário, à luz dos conceitos da Economia dos Custos de Transação, que o presente estudo tomou forma. Tendo por objetivo identificar as associações existentes entre os custos de transação e o desempenho contratual, o estudo aqui descrito selecionou quatro contratos de duas das refinarias da Petrobras para análise. Os resultados obtidos indicam que a decisão de terceirizar a atividade de manutenção parece correta, assim como a utilização de contratos como estruturas de governança para regular a transação estudada. Há evidências no estudo de que o desempenho contratual superior está associado aos fatores Esforço Negocial 1, Esforço Negocial 2, Prazo do Processo de Contratação, Detalhamento da Especificação dos Serviços, Salvaguardas Contratuais e Experiência Anterior. Empresas que possuem um histórico maior de relacionamento com a Petrobras tendem a minimizar custos de transação e obter melhor desempenho contratual. Além disso, se evidenciou que os contratos que obtiveram os melhores desempenhos foram aqueles que demandaram menores esforços durante a fase exante da contratação. / Since the globalization deepening phenomenon the strategic dilemma between firm and market organization has grown in importance in business environment. Since then, companies have used outsourcing strategy as part of the belief that it is impossible to ensure adequate standards of competitiveness ignoring the need to focus their efforts on core business. In this context, Petrobras decided to outsource the maintenance activity of static equipment in their refining units what, specifically, implies in conducting bidding processes to select companies to establish business partnerships, through medium and long terms contracts. It was in this scenario, in light of the Transaction Cost Economics approach, that this study took shape. With the goal to identify associations between transaction costs and the contractual performance, the study described here selected four contracts of two Petrobras refineries to be analyzed. The results indicate that the decision to outsource the maintenance activity seems correct, and the use of contracts as governance structures either. Another conclusion is that companies with a greater history of previous relationship with Petrobras tend to minimize transaction costs and have better contract performance. In addition, it became clear that the contracts that had the best performances were those that required less effort during the ex-ante stage.