Explaining Collaborative Performance Success: The Case of Multiple Constituencies’ Coordination Bodies for Frail Elderly Persons in Sweden

• Politics of public sector coordination is increasingly carried out in horizontally managed multi-level, multi-issue, and multi-actor coordination bodies for flexible, but sustainable quality coordination of performance. In Sweden, the coordination of public services to frail elderly persons is made by such coordination bodies that include politicians and administrators representing the multiple constituencies of local government’s social services and regional government’s health care, as well as both public and private service providers, and sometimes also representatives of local-regional associations and civic organizations. The research question is: Why do some multiple constituencies’ coordination bodies succeed and others fail? This paper tests hypotheses about how and why the governance through such complex coordination of performance is perceived as successful. The explanatory hypotheses are developed from (1) endogenous theories, seeking to explain success or failure in terms of internal characteristics, processes, and accountability checks made by the body and its members internally, and (2) ecological theories, which emphasize the environment and external accountability checks. The data comes from a survey sent in 2015 to all members in 73 coordination bodies across Sweden (response rate of 63 percent, N=545). The findings show that almost half of the variance in the perception of performance through collaborate quality coordination can be explained by accountability mechanisms stemming from the surrounding internal political and administrative institutions of the coordination body.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap -- Studier av offentlig förvaltning (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science -- Public Administration Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Collaborative Performance

Governance

Multiple Constituencies’ Coordination Bodies

Accountability

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