ABSTRACT
Many studies have identified multiple factors that account for the discrepancies in contracting performance. However, there are few studies that investigate the joint effects of political connections, collaborative service networks and resource mobilization on contracting performance in the project fields where contracted services are delivered. Based on a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis of 24 cases from four cities in China, we explore the complex causal conditions for the satisfactory performance of contracted social services and identified three causal pathways. This study provides a nuanced panorama of government–nonprofit relations in delivering government-contracted services at the community level in China.
