Resultatenheter i kommunalteknisk verksamhet : struktur, process och effekt

Sammanfattning: The focus of this thesis is on the most widespread organizational change that the public sector has gone through during the 1990s: the introduction, implementation and continuous use of profit centers. There are three major reasons for studying profit centers. First, profit centers appear to have become a permanent element in the management of local government. Second, profit centers were used differently in the 1990s than previously, as they became part of an effort to make local government organizations more market-oriented. Third, analyzing profit centers using data other than financial measurements, as has been most common to date, represents a fresh approach. A contingency theory serves as the starting point for the study. The study's empirical data is based on an examination of technical services in the Water/Sewage, Road, and Park maintenance departments of four municipalities: Norrköping, Örebro, Oskarshamn, and Oxelösund. In 1992, these municipalities—which vary in size, economic situation, and political majority—implemented profit centers and a purchaser provider model. The profit centers were implemented to achieve a more market-oriented focus. A model was developed for studying profit centers as well as important factors associated with implementing profit centers. This model also includes the intentions that underlie the implementation of profit centers. The model consists of four different parts that should be viewed as a whole because they are interdependent and affect one another. The study shows that it is the intentions that exist at the time of implementation that should control the choice of design and, not least, application of the profit center model. For example, if the goal is mainly to achieve cost consciousness, it is not as important how revenues are defined as it would be if the goal were to achieve a businesslike approach. Research diverges regarding the effects of new management tools in the local government sector. Based on this study, it can be noted that implementing profit centers has had effects in all four municipalities studied, though these effects varied. Both the intensity and the occurrence of effects seem to vary in accordance with situational variables.