The impact of new public management through outsourcing on the management of government information. The case of Sweden

Date11 March 2019
Published date11 March 2019
Pages134-151
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-09-2018-0038
AuthorProscovia Svärd
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Information management & governance
The impact of new public
management through outsourcing
on the management of
government information
The case of Sweden
Proscovia Svärd
Department of Information Science, University of South Africa, Pretoria,
South Africa and Södertörn University College,
School of History and Contemporary Studies, Stockholm Sweden
Abstract
Purpose Using a case study method, the article investigatesthe impact New Public Management (NPM),
through outsourcing has had on the management of government information at the Swedish Transport
Agency. In April 2015 the Agency outsourced its IT-operations to IBM company. Some of the IBM sub-
contractors had not been clearedby the Swedish Security Service. This exposed the Agencys information to
risk. By outsourcing the IT operations,the General Director of the Agency deviated from the laws governing
governmentinformation such as the Swedish Security Protection Act, the PersonalData Act and the Publicity
and Secrecy Act.
Design/methodology/approach The researcher has applied a case study method as the
investigation focuses on a phenomenon in a real-life setting. The case study method entails the use of past
studies, which facilitates the exploration and understanding of a complex issue. The phenomenon under
investigation is NPMs impact, through outso urcing, on the managem ent of public informat ion at the
Swedish Transportation Agency.
Findings Outsourcingshould be foregone by well-formulated contracts that shouldput into consideration
the management of government information and the involvement of all stakeholders such as records
managers/archivists,IT personnel, heads of departments, lawyersand business analysts. Outsourcingrisks
to compromise the two tenets of democracy that is, accountability and transparency which are central to
Swedish publicadministrationsoperations.
Research limitations/implications The study is limited by the fact that it only presents the views
of the archivists. This was, however, purposely done because their voice was missing during the
discussions that followed after the data breach scandal had become public knowledge. Additionally,
archivists are supposed to play a major role in the management of government information at Swedish
institutions. Further research that will involve different categories of employees might give a deeper and
better understanding of the impact that NPM, through outsourcing, is having on the management of
government informa tion and what implicati ons this might have on issu es of trust, transparen cy and
accountability.
Practical implications The study demonstrates the need for well-formulated outsourcing contracts
that will include information management clauses. It is of crucial importance in a democratic society that
access to governmentinformation is not compromised as institutions endeavorto achieve efciency and high-
qualityservice delivery.
Social implications It is government information that gives citizens knowledge about the various
processes of governmentinstitutions. It is therefore of paramountimportance that government information is
not left in the hands of unauthorized companies that are involvedin the outsourcing activity but should be
securely managed and guarded, as the opposite might pose privacy and national security challenges and
hence underminethe trust that citizens have in government institutions.
RMJ
29,1/2
134
Received25 September 2018
Revised21 November 2018
Accepted12 December 2018
RecordsManagement Journal
Vol.29 No. 1/2, 2019
pp. 134-151
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/RMJ-09-2018-0038
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
Originality/value The search that the author conducted conrmed paucity in research that discusses
issues relatedto NPM, outsourcing and the management of government information.This paper is therefore a
contributionto the discourse from an archives and information managementperspective.
Keywords Outsourcing, New public management, Transparency, Accountability,
Government information
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
This article investigates the impact that New Public Management (NPM) through
outsourcing has had on the management of government information at the Swedish
Transport Agency. It demonstratesthe need for well-formulated outsourcing contracts that
should properly spell out responsibilities for the management of government information
and involve all stakeholders such as; records managers/archivists, IT personnel, heads of
departments, lawyers and business analysts. Government administrations are operating in
a world of constant technological change and disruptive innovation. This development has
brought along great opportunities but also challenges. Organizational environments are
more unpredictable and insecure today (OECD, 2017), and this has forced organizations to
deploy new management styles to achieve efciency and exibility in a world of constant
change. The globalization and the pluralization of service provision has required
government institutions to collaborate with external partners to meet the citizensdemands.
Globalization and market liberalization increased the criticism toward the old style of
management of public administrations and have led to the adoption of private sector
practices to the public sector. This resulted in a shift from administration to management
and hence, the NPM style. Furthermore,public administrations were not only to be regarded
as implementers of rules and lawsbut organizations that can meaningfully use governments
resources to deliver high-quality service (UNDP and Global Centre for Service Public
Excellence, 2015).
Therefore, globalization, the free movement of capital, people and competition are the
driving forces behind the streamliningof organizational business activities and the focus on
core business activities to deliver satisfactory services (Baltic Quality, 2012). Since 1980s,
the European Governments have embraced NPM in the quest for efcient institutions and
have outsourced government functions to private organizations (Van de Walle and
Hammerschmid, 2011). NPM is considered a model that can increase trust in government
institutions. It is the introduction of private sector practices into the public sector,
strengthening the prerogatives of managers, measuring performance, increasing
competitive pressures and cuttingcosts. Outsourcing is a strategy within NPM and is about
the contracting out of a service traditionally delivered by a government organization to a
private organization. Whileit is seen as a means to cut costs and to create efciencies, it has
also been blamed for exacerbating unemployment and is considered a threat to data
security, and hence the warning that it should be prudently applied to certain sectors
(Tholons, 2010).
In the 1980s, the declining citizenstrust was identied as the driving force of the
changes that government institutions underwent (OECD, 2017). Even today, the public
sector is working hard to distance itself from inefciency, non-transparency and being
expensive and is workinghard to put the citizens, sometimes referred to as customers, at the
centre of its business activities (Svärd, 2014). It continues to implement reforms with the
objective of inclusive growth, the delivery of high-quality service to the citizens amidst
budgetary constraints (OECD, 2017). Like largeorganizations, government administrations
The impact of
new public
management
135

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT