Outsourcing Strategies in Public Services under Budgetary Constraints: Analysing Perceptions of Public Managers

Abstract

This work aimed to study outsourcing strategies in public services and their relations with business continuity and resilience during budgetary constraints. A qualitative analysis was conducted using semi-structured interviews. This methodology was conducted with 51 public managers from the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Findings showed that, during budget cuts periods, in the short term, due to the urgency of decision-making, it is common for outsourced services to suffer reductions or interruptions first, which directly affects public services continuity. Only a long-term view is able to correctly analyse this situation, but this does not always occur when the main factor observed is the law of fiscal responsibility. Therefore, this work brings new light to the literature concerning the problem situation, and may be useful for the planning of outsourcing strategies in public services.