Competing interests : the challenge to collaboration in the public sector

Purpose: Managers working within organizations that are part of public-private collaborations comment on their "diabolical" nature and seek guidance as to their administration. Set in an organization involved in a public-private "service delivery contract", the purpose of this paper is to report research into the collaboration and challenges experienced within the organization. It also seeks to consider to the significance of narrative and story-telling in understanding these complexities. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected using in-depth interviews and observation. The emerging discourse was analyzed using a machine-based, lexigraphic tool to provide a framework for interpretive story analysis. The significance and value of each approach are illustrated as are the effective synergies between them. Findings: The paper identifies a number of different competing interests, including the needs of the clients vs the governmentally imposed goals and performance metrics of the organization. The limitations of this network form are highlighted; through contrasting of manager and consultant stories it becomes plain that collaborative networking only occurs at the management levels. Research limitations/implications: The role of the story-teller and the story context emerge as significant. Further research that pays greater attention to the stories' context, subtext, roles of narrator and others in the story is recommended. Originality/value: The paper demonstrates the value of extending machine-based analysis with more interpretive approaches. The significance of story analysis in understanding the embeddedness of narrative is highlighted as the range of synergies that can arise from multiple analytical techniques.