Collaborative Service Arrangements

While much of prior research on collaboration addresses the service delivery network as a whole, we address collaborative relationships between one type of organization—municipal employment services—and a range of governmental and non-governmental partners for employment services in Denmark. Municipalities differ in the type, degree, and character of collaboration with these partners. As others have found in prior research, we find that organizational benefits, trust, and a variety of contextual factors help shape the extent of collaboration. But, the relevance of these and problem-solving benefits in particular differs among collaborators. Our modeling of the influence of collaboration on perceived employment outcomes suggests that these impacts are relatively minor. They are greater when there is active involvement of municipal employment managers in fostering cooperative relationships with collaborators. In short, collaboration requires a healthy and active relationship to foster improved outcomes. These findings have implications for future research about collaborative service delivery concerning the measurement of collaboration, different bases for it, and potential impacts.