An Integrative Framework for Government Purchase of Service

Government purchase of service draws attentions from practice and research in public administration. However,few scholars study it systematically. In order to fill in this gap,this article synthesizes and extends the existing conceptual frameworks,research findings,and practice-based knowledge into an integrative framework for public service outsourcing. The framework specifies s set of nested dimensions that encompass external context,drivers,purchase-of-service regime,outsourcing impacts and adaptions across the systems. The purchase-of-service regime consists of its dynamics and actions. The active interaction between government,social organization and the public compose the purchase-of-service dynamics. This framework provides a conceptual map fro exploring the questions concerning about purchase-of-service,outsourcing,contracting out,and public private partnerships.