ABSTRACT
The logic of service delivery is changing profoundly due to technological, organizational, institutional and social innovations. This development paves the way for new forms of interaction and socioeconomic composition. In this article we provide an overview of the ongoing service transformation and apply it to public service provision and delivery. Our focus is on innovation in public service delivery, which aims at renewing or improving processes and organizational arrangements related to it. In this context, we will look closely at competitive and market-based solutions. The empirical aspect of this study looks at the transformation of Finnish public services. Wefocus on competition-based and business-like organizational innovations, such as corporatization, outsourcing and privatefinance initiatives. Our conclusion is that the logic of public service delivery is increasingly based on the idea of ‘marketization’ in various manifestations, which, in general, increase efficiency but may also cause problems if applied categorically as a reform imperative in the public domain.
