Abstract

During the past two decades, the creation of private-law companies for the undertaking of public-interest activities has become a prominent phenomenon at the local level. Although corporatisation is often presented as a tool for the more efficient management of services, recent empirical studies have demonstrated that its success has also to do with the opportunities that it may offer to politicians. Research on the topic mostly focuses on single national cases, but the space for politics in corporatisation may vary according to the institutional settings, policy legacies and stakeholder relations consolidated over time. Drawing on the results of recent studies, this article seeks to identify the empirical dimensions of the "politics of corporatisation" and draw some preliminary bases for an analytical framework which could help future comparisons.