Is public procurement efficiency conditioned by market types? A critical test in park and road sectors in Sweden

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent contracting out practices has led to perceived resource cuts in the Swedish park and road sectors. Design/methodology/approach – E-survey sent to managers in park and technical departments in the municipalities. Response rate: 39.7 percent. Findings – Decreased costs were found in 25 percent of the responding road departments, in 20 percent of park departments. 49 percent of the road departments responded “no change” or “increase” (48 percent parks). Findings indicate that tendering practices tend to be most commonly centered in Swedish municipalities situated in the three metropolitan regions (Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo with suburbs), while such practices are not as common in mid-sized and rural municipalities. In addition, contracting out practices correspond with higher per capita budgets, not with smaller. Research limitations/implications – The research implications are that contracting out tend to occur “where the resources ar...