TY - JOUR
T1 - Beyond hollowing out
T2 - Public sector managers and the use of external management consultants
AU - Kirkpatrick, Ian
AU - Sturdy, Andrew J.
AU - Reguera Alvarado, Nuria
AU - Veronesi, Gianluca
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Public Administration Review published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Public Administration.
PY - 2023/5
Y1 - 2023/5
N2 - Expenditure on management consultants in public sector organizations is generally seen as contributing to a “hollowing out” of the state through the substitution of internal management capability. However, there is little systematic evidence for this view which also ignores how public sector managers may, themselves, drive consulting use. Looking at 125 English public hospitals over 6 years, we explore the relationship between the development and composition of management functions and spending on consultants. Our findings show the absence of a substitution effect and, therefore, challenge the “hollowing out” thesis. Instead, they point to a more active, occupationally varied and political use of consultancy. We find that larger management functions overall are associated with greater reliance on consultants—a complementary relationship. However, where a higher proportion of managers are engaged in internal consulting functions, this results in the lower use of external management consultants, with implications for theory, research and policy.
AB - Expenditure on management consultants in public sector organizations is generally seen as contributing to a “hollowing out” of the state through the substitution of internal management capability. However, there is little systematic evidence for this view which also ignores how public sector managers may, themselves, drive consulting use. Looking at 125 English public hospitals over 6 years, we explore the relationship between the development and composition of management functions and spending on consultants. Our findings show the absence of a substitution effect and, therefore, challenge the “hollowing out” thesis. Instead, they point to a more active, occupationally varied and political use of consultancy. We find that larger management functions overall are associated with greater reliance on consultants—a complementary relationship. However, where a higher proportion of managers are engaged in internal consulting functions, this results in the lower use of external management consultants, with implications for theory, research and policy.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150457186&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/puar.13612
DO - 10.1111/puar.13612
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85150457186
SN - 0033-3352
VL - 83
SP - 537
EP - 551
JO - Public Administration Review
JF - Public Administration Review
IS - 3
ER -