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The paper discusses the balance between values and economic efficiency in the public sector in comparison with the private sector. The argument is that the public sector, hence the public welfare service institutions, can learn much from the private service sector, hence the private service firms with regard to the relation to values, ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and efficiency in order to improve the balance between values and efficiency in the public sector.

The paper discusses the concept of balance in relation to the development of the management of private service companies as a useful alternative to new public management (NPM). It discusses this with regard to three issues: the evolution of the management of private companies; what can the public sector, hence the public welfare institutions, learn from the evolution of management of private companies? How would it be possible for governments to work for an alternative to NPM, on the basis of the experiences of management of private companies, improving the balance between values and economic efficiency in the public sector?

It is argued that a deadlock in the development of efficiency management in the public sector, hence in the public welfare service institutions, is created. It is argued, furthermore, that this deadlock to a great extent, paradoxically, is created because of the focusing on NPM for almost two decades as the most important tool to develop efficiency management in the public sector. Finally, it is argued that the experiences in private companies regarding how to find a proper balance between values, ethics, CSR and economic efficiency can be very helpful in developing a strategy within the public sector to unlock the deadlock regarding the development of efficiency management. That is why the experiences of management of the private services companies can become a constructive alternative to the experiences of NPM in the public sector at the level of welfare institutions.

There would be potential for more research on CSR, business ethics and values‐driven management in relation to the public sector.

The paper offers new insight into the relation between values, CSR and management models in the private and in the public sector.

Over the last few years several projects have been procured under the Private Finance Initiative, which brought with them some challenging, often novel, legal issues. A new statutory framework has been established creating new legal entities and regulating the powers and obligations of those new entities. The public procurement regime of the European Union has had to be carefully considered by both the public and private sector parties as failure by either to adhere to the strict rules and procedures can result in the imposition of sanctions. Attitudes to the way in which contracts are structured have had to change. The public sector had to step back from the more traditional involvement and control it has exercised in the past, and permit the private sector to come up with innovative solutions to the public sector's output requirements. The issues of force majeure and change of law have had to be looked at very closely and mechanisms for the sharing of the risk negotiated between the public and private sectors. A uniform approach to these legal issues would be welcomed along with some standarization of fundamental terms.

Public-private partnership (PPP) power projects are associated with varying risk factors. This paper aims to develop a fuzzy quantitative risk allocation model (QRAM) to guide decision-making on risk allocation in PPP power projects in Ghana.

A total of 67 risk factors and 9 risk allocation criteria were established from literature and ranked in a two-round Delphi survey using questionnaires. The fuzzy synthetic evaluation method was used in developing the risk allocation model.

The model’s output variable is the risk allocation proportions between the public body and private body based on their capability to manage the risk factors. Out of the 37 critical risk factors, the public sector was allocated 12 risk factors with proportions = 50%, while the private sector was allocated 25 risk factors with proportions = 50%.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research presents the first attempt in Ghana at endeavouring to develop a QRAM for PPP power projects. There is confidence in the model to efficiently allocate risks emanating from PPP power projects.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the different dimensions of service quality influence customers’ behavioural intentions in the private and public sector banks, that is, in class and mass banking, respectively, and the implications for the service provider, consumer, society and consumer policy.

A contextually modified SERVQUAL instrument was used to capture customers’ perceptions of service quality followed by exploratory factor analysis to study the dimensionality of service quality in retail banking. Multiple regression was used to probe the influence of the dimensions of service quality on customers’ behavioural intentions.

The study revealed four dimensions of service quality in retail banking, namely, customer-orientedness, reliability, tangibles and convenience and showed that the service quality factor customer-orientedness comprising of the responsiveness and attitude of employees is most important in influencing customers’ behavioural intentions in the case of private sector banks and reliability of the service is most influential in the case of public sector banks.

Future research can focus on “service excellence” being extended beyond assessment of the quality of services, towards evaluation of the quality of life outcomes, to which public organizations contribute, appraisal of the quality of public governance processes and quality of performance in meeting social objectives.

Retail bank managers must realize the importance of employees providing competent, reliable service in the case of public sector banks and their responsiveness and behaviour towards customers in the case of private sector banks, as the keys to foster a culture of service excellence.

High-quality financial consumer policy must not only be able to increase customer satisfaction with financial services but also build security and trust in public administration through transparent processes and accountability. In this context, with public agencies being regarded as service providers and citizens as customers, the concept of quality must also visualize public agencies as catalysts of a responsible and active civic society.

This study explores the relationship between service quality and customers’ behavioural intentions in the private and public sector banks by linking both constructs at their dimensional level. It highlights major implications for the service provider, society, consumer and public policy based on the different needs, characteristics and requirements of customers of class and mass banking, that is, private and public sector banks.

With the growing demand for infrastructure and public services in recent years, PPP-UP have attracted a great deal of attention. However, while the user focuses on the payment for use and the private sector is concerned with its return on investment, the public sector pays more attention to the efficient utilization of public funds. In order to analyze the willingness of each stakeholder to join PPP-UP, an evolutionary game model involving the three parties is constructed.

An evolutionary game model is established that considers the users and the public and private sectors in user-pay public-private-partnership projects (PPP-UP). Eight scenarios of equilibriums and the game's evolutionary stable strategies are analyzed, and the corresponding stability conditions are then obtained. A situation where all three players are willing to cooperate in theory is also examined. The key influencing parameters that affect cooperation behaviors are further discussed.

First, the results illustrate that by properly adjusting the influencing factors, the cooperation status among the three parties can be changed along with certain evolutionary trends. Second, it is hard to modify unsatisfactory evolutionary stability by small changes in both the price compensation of and the construction and operation compensation. Third, it is necessary to involve the users in the decision-making process in PPP-UP and take their demands regarding benefits and payments into account.

In this paper, we focus on PPP-UP to research interactions among the public and private sectors and the users. Based on the analysis of the evolutionary game, to facilitate the successful implementation and development of a project, several conditions are needed to ensure tripartite cooperation. Several recommendations are then proposed for decision-makers in PPP-UP.

The purpose of this study is to identify factors discouraging Kuwaiti nationals from participating in the private sector labour force (Kuwaitization).

A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of Kuwaiti nationals to identify the main reasons that prevent them from joining the private sector labour force.

The study revealed that low expectations of private sectors’ employers regarding Kuwaiti nationals discourage them from joining the sector. Kuwaiti nationals believe that the private sector employers look for high standards of communication and computing skills. They avoid working for the private sector because some jobs require working for two shifts and long working hours, and they cannot obtain frequent leave. Other factors that appeared to affect Kuwaiti nationals’ participation in the private sector labour force were lack of job security, fewer holidays, difficulty to obtain special pay leave or early retirement at lucrative terms, uncertainty about the prospect of promotion and job insecurity.

The current study targets Kuwaiti national employees. To formulate a clear picture about the main factors that influence the success or otherwise of the Kuwaitization policy, it is of paramount importance to explore the opinion of the private sector employers.

The outcome of this study would be used by policymakers to promote Kuwaitization and increase Kuwaiti nationals’ participation in the private sector labour force. This will increase the country’s reliance on its national labour force and ensure sustainable economic and social development.

The outcome of this study is expected to assist the Kuwaiti authorities in reformulating the current Kuwaitization policies to achieve its objectives. The study is expected to draw some lessons applicable to other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The objectives of this present study are twofold. First, it aims to investigate the performance objectives of PPP implementation in Malaysia. Second, it aims to examine the differences in the perceptions of two PPP key players – the public and private sectors – pertaining to the performance objectives.

A questionnaire survey was used to elicit the perceptions of the public and private sectors concerning the performance objectives of PPP projects in Malaysia; 237 usable responses were obtained and analysed using SPSS to rank the importance of the performance objectives and to examine the differences in the perceptions between the government and private sectors.

The results reveal that the five most important performance objectives for PPP implementation in Malaysia based on overall respondents’ perceptions are “High-quality public service”, “Provide convenient service for society”, “Within or under budget”, “On-time or earlier” and “Satisfy the need for more public facilities”. As for differences in the perceptions of the two key players, only one objective was perceived as statistically more important by the public sector respondents than by their private sector counterparts.

The contribution of this paper is that it not only provides empirical evidence for the performance objectives for PPP implementation in Malaysia, but also offers evidence concerning the differences in the perceptions of the public and private sectors pertaining to the performance objectives.

There is no single way of achieving business success. The concept of knowledge management (KM) builds on the existing management practices, integrating them into a philosophy for improving performance. This paper aims to understand the various dimensions of KM and how they differ in public and private sector organizations in India. It also attempts to identify the dimensions where one sector is better than the other and areas needing improvement.

The paper uses a sample comprising 16 private and public sector organizations. A convenient sampling scheme was used. The extent of KM practices was evaluated with respect to dimensions, namely process, leadership, technology, culture and measurement.

The paper empirically shows that private sector organizations fare better statistically on all dimensions compared to public sector organizations. Although the private sector is ahead of the public sector on the raw mean scores of various dimensions, it has still a long way to go as the scores are below four on a scale of five. The scores are just satisfactory and there is further scope for improvement.

The study uses a sample of four public sector organizations and the findings may lack generalization. Therefore, it would be interesting to verify the findings using a larger sample size.

The paper can serve as a best practice document for public and private sector organizations interested in adopting KM for improving performance.

The paper tries to bring forth concern areas for KM in Indian public and private sector organizations.

The economic reforms and privatization in the wake of political changes in Poland after 1989 have led to rapid growth in the private sector. Although many new companies have been established, there has been a sharp increase in unemployment. Compared to the public sector, employees in the private sector tended to be less educated, younger and predominantly male. The private sector is also more dynamic, with higher rates of labor turnover, recruitment and separation, and average monthly wages were lower but, in recent years, have become close to those in the public sector. The Gini coefficient is higher in the private than in the public sector, showing that earnings are less equally distributed in this sector.

Public versus private sector placement and gender‐based effects are examined as the prime generator of wage variations among men and women Israeli managers in Israel. The macro‐sociological analysis of economic sectors, organizational theory and human capital effects are integrated to predict public/private sector variations in wages, taking account of managerial level and gender effects. Using demographic, human capital characteristics and managerial level position from a representative sample of 778 Israeli public and private sector employees, it is shown that wage variations are generated by initial placement in the public/private sector; higher returns to work hours, education and managerial position in the private sector, and “manhood” which increases returns to wages in both sectors taking account of managerial level variations. These results suggest that public/private sector wage differences are only partially explained by occupational and managerial level variations: taking into account the above variables, gender remains the major determinant of wages for both private and public sector employees.