Inter-municipal cooperation: more than meets the eye?

The thesis is organized in three chapters. CHAPTER ONE Inter-Municipal Cooperation: the prologue of a fairy tale with an uncertain plot Purpose – Providing an interpretation framework with a managerial perspective about Inter- Municipal Cooperation phenomenon and dimensions having an impact on it that is able to overcome sector-based characterizations by previous researchers, combining scientific outcomes gathering from Shared Service Centre and Public Network branches. Design/methodology/approach - Literature Review based on a set of 165 papers, examined by following steps of in-depth analysis. Findings – Analysed literature has highlighted a strong complement between Shared Service Centre and Public Network branches. Starting from here, five analysis dimensions have been identified to approach the Inter-Municipal Cooperation phenomenon according to a logical guiding thread of reciprocal influence. The first step of coding variables arising from the literature review focused on management aspects and has yielded two dimensions: Organization & ICT and Performance. A second variable systematization has identified further dimensions, not very managerial, but having an influence on them: Strategy, Governance and Politics. Research limitations/implications – An analysis framework of the phenomenon has been proposed that furnishes wide support to adapt to and acquire preliminary knowledge about the theme and guarantee easier in depth inquiry. Next studies could be carried out and explored beyond the analysed literature. Originality/value – Synergistic analysis between two literature branches gives a wide interpretation about the phenomenon. Identification of a bundle of operative steps and elements take into account design and operative start-up that steers Inter-Municipal Cooperation. Keywords - Public sector organizations, Shared Service Centre, Public Network, Municipalities, Inter-Municipal Cooperation, Literature review. Paper type – Literature review. CHAPTER TWO Opening the Pandora’s box of Inter-Municipal Cooperation. Managerial and political practices Purpose – An empirical inquiring into managerial and political elements, and their reciprocal influences, occurring in start-up and operative phases of Inter-Municipal Cooperation forms resorting to a broad approach including perspectives coming from Shared Service Centre and Public Network branches. Design/methodology/approach – Case Study approach identifying three units of analysis, in two different Countries, to investigate/describe the Inter-Municipal Cooperation phenomenon and preliminarily validate the theoretical framework. Findings – The outcomes have been presented according to the managerial perspectives of this phenomenon: Organization & ICT and Performance, and then according to those impacting the Inter-Municipal Cooperation managerial world: Strategy, Governance and Politics. The research makes possible a concrete key to interpretation of this phenomenon, identifying those elements characterizing start-up and operating speed phases. Research limitations/implications – This work provides detail about elements characterizing Inter-Municipal Cooperation in an international context. This represents an operative instrument for those involved in these processes including policy makers and contributes the basic knowledge necessary to develop further research. Originality/value – Considering the increasing recourse to Inter-Municipal Cooperation, this paper represents a first step of exploration about decisional and management processes of the Inter-Municipal Cooperation phenomenon, developing a basic knowledge that overcomes sector-based characterizing of previous analysis and becomes an operative instrument able to support processes and policies implementation of Inter-Municipal Cooperation. In addition, the phenomenon has been approached from a broad perspective gleaning into different literature branches usually examined separately. Keywords - Public sector organizations, Shared Service Centre, Public Network, Municipalities, Case study, Italy, Swiss. Paper type – Case study.CHAPTER THREE Inter-Municipal Cooperation: is it a way of improving efficiency? The case of social services in Italy Purpose – This research is aimed at studying the impact of taking part in Inter-Municipal Cooperation form on Municipality expenditure efficiency and in identifying the variables that influence it. Design/methodology/approach – The efficiency analysis has been carried out through a non-parametric method called DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis), applied to the social service portfolio and referred to all the Italian Municipalities taking part in a cooperation form over 11 years. The study about the impact of external variables to efficiency has been made through a truncated regression. Findings – The results highlight that there is a relevant effect on Municipal expenditure efficiency until amounts more than 25%, in moving to a cooperation form. Looking at the whole system level, positive and negative effects tend to balance out, with some differences between analysed services in terms of efficiency variation values and ratios between efficient and inefficient Municipalities. It is possible to identify different external factors that can influence the efficiency variation of a Municipality moving to a cooperation form, and they have been classified as geographical, demographical, administrative and economical dimensions. Research limitations/implications – The results provide recommendations both to policy makers and practitioners in Municipalities and upper institutional levels, for the start-up and the configuration of Inter-Municipal Cooperation, and identify the determinants impacting efficiency. The research focuses only on the Italian context, so it has not highlighted the relationship between efficiency and national regulations. The focus of efficiency analysis has been on a single services portfolio and on Municipal expenditures, therefore the Inter- Municipal Cooperation perspective and the effects of a possible global efficiency variation are not considered in the research results. Originality/value – This is the first study aimed at quantitatively evaluating the impact of expenditure efficiency of Inter-Municipal Cooperation with an explicit reference to service portfolio supplied by a Municipality.Keywords – Public sector organizations, Municipalities, Municipality Cooperation, efficiency analysis, Data Envelopment Analysis, Italy. Paper type – Research paper.