Stakeholder Red Tape : Comparing Perceptions of Public Managers and Their Private Consultants

Despite the abundance of red tape literature and the growing popularity of outsourcing in the public sector, no previous study investigates red tape in consulting relationships. Using survey data from public managers and the contractors with whom they work, we investigate public managers' and private consultants' perceptions of organizational and contracting red tape. We identify the determinants of red tape perceptions, variation in those perceptions, and the characteristics of respondents with stronger divergent views of contracting red tape. Results indicate that government managers perceive higher levels of organizational red tape and contracting red tape than do their consultants. Public manager perceptions of red tape are associated with job satisfaction and time spent managing and communicating with consultants. Consultant perceptions of red tape are associated with perceptions of the appropriateness of the government agency's rules, the number of years the firm has worked with the agency, and the percentage of the firm's cost-plus contracts