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The efficiency and effectiveness of municipally owned corporations: a systematic review

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  • Bart Voorn
  • Marieke L. van Genugten
  • Sandra van Thiel

Abstract

Municipally owned corporations (MOCs) are increasingly utilised to provide local public services, but little remains known about their efficiency and effectiveness. In this article, we offer a typology of MOCs, explore the variables that affect their behaviour, and perform a systematic review of public administration articles published between 2001 and 2015 on their efficiency and effectiveness. We find that MOCs are often more efficient than local bureaucracies in the provision of services such as refuse collection, water distribution, and transit services, although they also have high initial failure rates. We conclude that municipally owned corporations are a viable means for delivering some local public services for localities capable of initiating and managing complex contracts. In light of the scarcity of literature on this topic, our conclusions remain tentative, and we encourage additional research into this growing phenomenon.

Suggested Citation

  • Bart Voorn & Marieke L. van Genugten & Sandra van Thiel, 2017. "The efficiency and effectiveness of municipally owned corporations: a systematic review," Local Government Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(5), pages 820-841, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:flgsxx:v:43:y:2017:i:5:p:820-841
    DOI: 10.1080/03003930.2017.1319360
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    1. Paolo Esposito & Spiridione Lucio Dicorato & Emanuele Doronzo, 2021. "The effect of ownership on sustainable development and environmental policy in urban waste management: An explicatory empirical analysis of Italian municipal corporations," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 1067-1079, February.
    2. Coluccia, Benedetta & Barbieri, Roberta & Palmi, Pamela & Natale, Francesco, 2024. "Public ownership and ESG policies: implications for firm productivity in local transportation," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    3. Yanpeng Jiang & Paul Waley, 2020. "Who Builds Cities in China? How Urban Investment and Development Companies Have Transformed Shanghai," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 636-651, July.
    4. Marc Pilon & Alisher Mansurov, 2024. "Hybrid organizations: a classification within economic sectors," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-7, December.
    5. Fabio Caputo & Lorenzo Ligorio & Simone Pizzi, 2021. "The Contribution of Higher Education Institutions to the SDGs—An Evaluation of Sustainability Reporting Practices," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-13, September.
    6. Rhys Andrews, 2022. "Organizational Publicness and Mortality: Explaining the Dissolution of Local Authority Companies," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 350-371, March.
    7. Antonio Massarutto & Andrea Garlatti & Stefano Miani & Ernesto Cassetta & Silvia Iacuzzi, 2021. "Evaluating the performance of local SoEs as output‐maximizing entities: The case of Friuli Venezia Giulia," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(2), pages 307-332, June.
    8. Matti Itkonen, 2020. "Valiant, vital and virtuous - A time-snap review," European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 5, ejms_v5_i.
    9. Davide Giacomini & Paola Zola & Diego Paredi & Mario Mazzoleni, 2020. "Environmental disclosure and stakeholder engagement via social media: State of the art and potential in public utilities," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1552-1564, July.
    10. Ligorio, Lorenzo & Caputo, Fabio & Venturelli, Andrea, 2022. "Sustainability disclosure and reporting by municipally owned water utilities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    11. Germà Bel & Marianna Sebo, 2018. "“Does inter-municipal cooperation really reduce delivery costs? An empirical evaluation of the role of scale economies, transaction costs, and governance arrangements”," IREA Working Papers 201816, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Jul 2018.
    12. Anna Białek‐Jaworska, 2022. "Revenue diversification and municipally owned companies’ role in shaping the debt of municipalities," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(4), pages 931-975, December.
    13. D'Amore, Gabriella & Landriani, Loris & Lepore, Luigi, 2021. "Ownership and sustainability of Italian water utilities: The stakeholder role," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    14. Tomasz Jedynak & Krzysztof Wąsowicz, 2021. "The Relationship between Efficiency and Quality of Municipally Owned Corporations: Evidence from Local Public Transport and Waste Management in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-30, August.
    15. Krause, Tobias Alexander & Ivanov, Igor & Sidki, Marcus, 2023. "Blame or gain? Is institutional trust impacted by the perception of political influence in state-owned enterprises?," Working Paper Series 30, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Business and Law.
    16. Ferry, Laurence & Wegorowski, Piotr & Andrews, Rhys, 2024. "Hybridity, institutional logics and value creation mechanisms in the corporatisation of social care," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).
    17. Jabłoński Marek, 2019. "Interdependence Among Creativity, Education, and Job Experience: A Municipal Company in Poland," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 27(4), pages 48-70, December.
    18. Shohei Nagasawa, 2018. "Asymmetric cost behavior in local public enterprises: exploring the public interest and striving for efficiency," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 225-273, December.
    19. Tafuro, Alessandra & Dammacco, Giuseppe & Esposito, Paolo & Mastroleo, Giovanni, 2022. "Rethinking performance measurement models using a fuzzy logic system approach: a performative exploration on ownership in waste management," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    20. Alexandra Roeger & António F. Tavares, 2020. "Do Governance Arrangements Affect the Voluntary Adoption of Water Safety Plans? An Empirical Study of Water Utilities in Portugal," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(5), pages 1757-1772, March.
    21. Bart Voorn & Marieke van Genugten & Sandra Van Thiel, 2020. "Performance of municipally owned corporations: Determinants and mechanisms," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(2), pages 191-212, June.
    22. Marian Kachniarz & Zbigniew Piepiora, 2019. "The Effectiveness of Administrative Consolidation Processes in Urban Functional Areas. Case Studies from Poland and the USA," Proceedings of the 14th International RAIS Conference, August 19-20, 2019 007MK, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies.
    23. Bauer, Philumena & Traxler, Albert Anton & Greiling, Dorothea, 2023. "Management control by municipal utilities for value creation to achieve the sustainable development goals," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    24. Leon Wansleben & Nils Neumann, 2024. "Entrepreneurs beyond neoliberalism: Municipally owned corporations and climate change mitigation in German cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(5), pages 799-820, April.

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