Nonprofit and for-profit providers play an increasing role in public service delivery, but we know little about what shapes public service delivery preferences. Responding to calls to put the “public” back in public values theory, we examine the influence of public values on sector service delivery preferences for government, nonprofit, or for-profit delivery across six service areas ranging from simple services such as trash collection to complex services such as child welfare. We find equity predicts a preference for government service delivery across areas, while efficiency corresponds to a preference for for-profit service delivery. Nonprofit sector preferences varied across service areas; equity corresponds to simple services such as street maintenance, whereas effectiveness corresponds to complex human services such as elder care. Public administrators should be cognizant of the public value trade-offs that underlie sector preferences for public services to design and implement service arrangements in line with the preferences of the public they serve.

中文翻译：

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公共价值观和部门服务提供偏好：公众对从简单到复杂的人类服务承包的偏好

非营利和营利提供者在公共服务提供中发挥着越来越大的作用，但我们对是什么影响了公共服务提供偏好知之甚少。为了响应将“公众”重新纳入公共价值观理论的呼声，我们研究了公共价值观对政府、非营利组织或营利性部门服务提供偏好的影响，涉及六个服务领域，从垃圾收集等简单服务到复杂的服务，例如儿童福利。我们发现，公平预示着对跨领域政府服务提供的偏好，而效率则对应于对营利性服务提供的偏好。非营利部门的偏好因服务领域而异；公平对应于街道维护等简单服务，而有效性对应于老年人护理等复杂的人类服务。公共管理者应该认识到公共服务部门偏好背后的公共价值权衡，以根据其服务的公众偏好设计和实施服务安排。