Innovation in Public Service Delivery in Terms of Shared Services Centres in Local Governments: A Case Study of the City of Toruń (Poland)
Innovation in Public Service Delivery in Terms of Shared Services Centres in Local Governments: A Case Study of the City of Toruń (Poland)

Summary/Abstract: Objectives: The public sector has been subjected to financial pressure. One of the tools to improve the environmentof the public sector entities and introduce greater management flexibility in governance is establishing Shared ServicesCentres (SSCs).Research: The article presents a case study regarding the implementation process and the effectiveness assessmentof this solution based on the example of the city of Toruń.Research Design & Methods: The paper provides a case study of SSC of the city of Toruń.Findings: Based on the results, it can be concluded that the key barrier to the implementation of SSCs as the innovationtool of public management is the lack of understanding of business management tools among directors of public sectorunits that were not involved in the issue of management efficiency.Implications / Recommendations: What appears to be the most challenging is the sociological factor that mattersin terms of SSCs implementation. Social capital of the units’ directors, trust, and reciprocity is much more importantthan institutional arrangements.Contribution / Value Added: The paper shows the first evaluation of SSC in local government in Poland based on a casestudy. It is believed that this approach might be very fruitful for further theoretical research and practical implementation.Article classification: research articleKeywords: public management, innovation in public management, shared services centres, collaborative governance,reforming public administrationJEL classification: H83

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