Introduction to the Symposium
Abstract
Guest EditorialIntroduction to the Symposium SAGE Publications, Inc.200810.1177/1087724X08326115 R. PauljrBattaglio University of Texas at Dallas L. DouglasKiel University of Texas at Dallas Douglas J.Watson University of Texas at Dallas For more than 30 years the public sector in the United States has strained to deal with declines in real rev- enues. In a business culture, as one might expect, the solution set to these revenue declines, includes using the power of markets to relieve public fiscal pressures. The evolution of these market-based approaches has resulted in a lineage of solutions founded on both privatizing and contracting out traditional government service activities. These proposed solutions served to redefine thinking about the nature of public service provision and the nature of governance itself. This continuing tendency for government to rely on both the private and nonprofit sectors to provide services results in the blurring of boundaries between sectors. In short, the system of governance in the United States is increasingly a network of government, business, and non- profit organizations, all working to achieve both larger societal goals while also attempting to maximize individ- ual organizational goals. The history of these arrange- ments is not always viewed as congenial. Too often