Manageralist Thinking on Marketing for Public Services

The authors examine the nature of marketing in the public sector as a response to government-led reforms during the past 15 years. They conclude that the public sector is a context in which marketing management differs in both theory and application from the approaches found in profit-oriented, privately-owned organizations. There are elements of commercial marketing theory and practice that are useful at an operational level in public bodies, but the democratic process is a major complication. The development of a new framework for marketing in the special context of public services is urged and a tentative start is attempted.     

Further reading

This article began life as a debate for MSc students in a public management class at Queen Mary, University of London, convened by the authors. In seeking to explain the significance of consumerism in contemporary public service reform, the authors took different positions on the normative appeal of consumer-oriented public service reforms. In this article George Jones begins by setting out the advantages of consumerism in public services. In the second part of the article, Catherine Needham sets out to rebut some of these purported advantages. In the conclusion, the authors identify some points of consensus and the key points of disagreement.     

Elderly consumers and financial choices: A systematic review

The purpose of this paper is to investigate elderly choices and behaviors in financial services markets. A systematic review of a five-decade period (1970–2019) of academic research in the marketing field was carried out in order to identify elderly consumers’ decisions regarding financial asset management and legacy, highlighting the main findings of extant research and practical implications for marketers. Results shed light on financial asset management in terms of welfare, retirement planning, and investments for old age, as well as legacy practices in terms of special possessions, charities, and rites of passage. The study underlines the need to consider the heterogeneous nature of elderly consumers’ values and lifestyles in designing strategies for financial services and products, emphasizing that demographic differences alone are not adequate to effectively define market segments. Furthermore, the role of mixed marketing approaches considering elderly choices are discussed, together with implications for companies that want to target such consumer target.

     

The contracting out of legal services within the public sector

From 1979, successive Conservative governments were determined to introduce private sector management approaches into the delivery of public services. This article reviews the managerial and structural changes since 1979 and proposes an initial typology through which to interpret them. The article concludes by raising issues concerning how far these changes have reflected or diluted the Government's policy objectives and how far the changes have been to the benefit of the various stakeholders involved in the provision of public services.     

Debate: Cutback management through public procurement

The policy of contestability has become an important policy in relation to the delivery of public services. This article describes the theoretical underpinnings of contestability and its application to public services in the UK. It discusses the necessary conditions for achieving effective contestability and extending the application of contestability in public service provision.     

Developing public servants for the future

ABSTRACT

The majority of UK civil servants are ‘developed’ within a particular service or profession and there is frequently very little movement into other service areas. Many current leaders therefore have limited experiences in services and organizations other than their own. This paper presents a new graduate programme for the training and development of future public leaders in Wales. The programme is a leadership and development programme for civil and public servants, exposing them to a range of services. The intention is that, through these experiences, future leaders will approach problems from a multi-service perspective, will be better networked and ready to deal with complexity. Areas of good practice are highlighted, together with some of the challenges of developing leaders in this way.     

Using Relational and Transactional MCSs to Manage the Delivery of Outsourced Public Services: Evidence from Twelve Cases in the USA

The successful management of the purchaser–provider relationship is essential for the effective delivery of public services, and entails the use of both transactional and relational approaches. We herein analyse the degree and complementarity of transactional and relational management control systems in the management of purchaser–provider relationships for the successful delivery of public services using evidence from 12 US case studies. We demonstrate that transactional and relational management control systems are controlled differently in order to improve contracting efficiency. We also show how a combination of these management control systems offers a framework for structured public accountability and service flexibility.     

Quality Defined by Public Service Users—The Case of the Avon Probation Service

Avon Probation Service and Bristol Business School have developed a means of assessing user-defined quality of service provision. Building on that work, this article reports on an attempt to involve 'consumers' in devising criteria by which they can judge the performance of a public service. It begins with a review of the debate about quality in public service management, arguing that it is a mistake to import uncritically 'business' approaches to quality into the public services. The impossibility of defining a uniform set of expectations of the probation service's role is a major reason why conventional notions of quality cannot be grafted directly on to public service management. The case study of the probation service suggests broader lessons for public services which wish to involve users in addressing quality issues.     

Accountability for performance in English and Scottish fire and rescue services from 2010 to 2016

ABSTRACT

Using evidence from English and Scottish fire and rescue services from 2010 to 2016, this paper shows how divergent performance management regimes can affect public accountability. Performance management regimes enable agencies and the public to hold public sector organizations accountable by facilitating evaluation of their accomplishments. However, local as opposed to central, control over performance management can have quite different implications for public accountability.     

Relationship marketing,relational capital and the future of marketing in public service organizations

This article proposes an innovative model of marketing practice for public services. This is rooted in the paradigm of relationship marketing and emphasizes the need to build relational capital between and within organizations operating in the public services arena. It is argued that this is essential for the effective management of contemporary public services in the fragmented state.     

Public sector borrowing requirement: A plain man's guide

With the implementation of an internal market in the UK National Health Service (NHS), interest in marketing NHS services is growing. Yet marketing practice in other sectors of the economy, and the experience of other markets in health care, raise doubts and objections as to whether marketing should be introduced in the NHS at all. Some of these objections have force, and there are important structural differences between the NHS internal market and conventional markets. Simply copying conventional marketing methods is therefore unlikely to be an effective, or even a desirable, approach to marketing in the NHS. Specific forms of marketing are required for the NHS and these forms differ for purchasing organizations, for commercialized health care providers (including NHS trusts), and for directly‐managed NHS services. Differences between these variants can be illustrated by considering the different ways in which a generic model of marketing would have to be amended for each case. The differences also suggest some policy and managerial parameters for the future development of NHS marketing.     

Financing the public library service

Charging for certain services to the public is one way of increasing the funding for public organisations. But how far does charging distort the purposes and management of those organisations? A critique of the recent consultative paper ‘Financing our Public Library Services: Four Subjects for Debate’ clarifies some of the issues.     

Murphy’s Laws: A Key Explanatory Tool for Public Sector Disputes in the UK

This article reports on the use that the public makes of the budgetary and financial reporting produced by Spanish local authorities. The authors show financial reporting influences voting behaviour. Although citizens cannot decide how much tax they have to pay or the volume or quality of the services, they can control public management when it comes to election time. Accounting information can reflect the results of public policies and consequently serve as a vehicle for communicating the economic effects of political management. The authors make a strong case for more ‘popular’ financial reporting so that government accounts can be understood and properly used by non-specialists.     

Key account management in financial services: An outline research agenda

The forces of deregulation and technological development have created a highly competitive environment in financial services. Despite the quest for business-to-business service efficiency, most financial services companies know that they must not lose sight of the importance of relationship quality. As a result, there is growing interest in key account management (KAM) in these companies. Research on KAM in general is limited and little has been undertaken in financial services. There are several reasons why KAM practice in financial services may be distinctive: the regulatory environment; the sector's size and diversity; the high degree of intermediation; product diversity and complexity; uncertainty of product performance; the problem of measuring profitability; the challenges of interactive marketing using both traditional face-to-face and complementary direct marketing techniques; and the role of technology in delivery. A research agenda for KAM in financial services is proposed. It is argued that more knowledge in this area would be of benefit to customer relationship management (CRM) research and to practising managers implementing KAM.     

Banks,customer relationship management and barriers to the segment of one

Technological advances are changing the nature of marketing channels and altering how consumers shop. The same changes are improving marketers' ability to capture and manipulate data, leading to an enhanced understanding of customers. Financial institutions are using these technological capabilities to target the individual needs of customers. As the benefits of customer relationship management (CRM) are brought to the fore, this focus on the ‘segment of one’ has become a feature of the service offered by some banks and financial services institutions. This paper reviews case study evidence of progress towards the segment of one and identifies the barriers that are impeding progress.     

Pointers: Pay; Housing; NHS; Regional policy; Public expenditure; Industrial support; US deficits

Using performance indicators to drive improved service delivery and cost‐effectiveness has been a recognized management technique in the public sector for many years. Most managers are now convinced of the possible benefits, at least in theory. Reality, though, is much less encouraging. Partial coverage, poor implementation and unrealized expectations are still the norm. Yet the potential for radical improvement by making the most of performance measurement is even greater than most people would believe. The question is how to unlock this potential.     

Management in central government: The next steps

The Government's response to the latest report from the Efficiency Unit represents a compromise between those who believe that the Civil Service has gone far enough down the management road and the radicals who want even greater reform. Time will tell whether the new structures for providing public services will be better managed than the present centralised system. What is needed now is a new interpretation of the constitutional role of civil servants.     

Risky business—reconceptualizing risk and innovation in public services

This paper explores the relationship between risk and innovation in public services, presenting the state of the literature across different disciplines and the academic and policy literature. It suggests a novel framework to approach risk, emphasising the importance of differentiating between different types of risk and risk management. The paper offers a typology of risk types and management approaches that indicates different effects on the type of public service innovation. It concludes by considering the implications for theory and practice.     

Conceptualising online banking service value

A conceptual framework for perceived value of online banking services is developed. The nature of four value dimensions is explored in the context of online banking services. In two empirical studies the relative importance of each value dimension is measured and the findings indicate that the temporal and spatial dimensions are perceived as more important than traditional dimensions based on outcome and process elements. Sub-dimensions of technical, functional, temporal, and spatial service value are also identified. It is suggested that temporal and spatial flexibility is only one aspect of temporal and spatial value. The paper extends prior research on e-services by conceptualising online banking service value as a multidimensional and hierarchical construct and separating each value dimension into sub-dimensions. It suggests a holistic perspective of service value and a dynamic nature of value dimensions: although the separate value dimensions involve different aspects of the service value, as a whole they fulfil the same need. The paper contributes to marketing research and practice with its approach to how value can be conceptualised for bank services. Explanations for the dynamics of the value dimensions are proposed.