Corporate capacity and public service performance
- 2011
- p.894-908.
Corporate capacity is arguably a key determinant of the success or failure of public secftor organizations. However, while there is growing evidence on the extent of corporate capacity, few researchers have systematically examind whether it is linked to public service performance. Does a larger corporate cente lead to better or worse performance for the organization as a whole? To answer this question we apply seemingly unrelated regression to measures of effectiveness, cost-effectivness and equity in English local government. We find that the effect of corporate capacity on performance is nonlnear, following an inverted u-shaped pattern, and that this positive effect turns negative around the mean for effectivness and cost-effectiveness, and above the mean for equity. The study therefore suggests that senior mangers face important trade-offs between organizational goals when deciding on the appropriate level of corporate capacity. - Reproduced.