Business interactions in facility services: emerging paradoxes in the purchasing approach in Italian municipalities

Purpose. The paper focalizes its attention on the analysis of buyer-seller interactions in facility services These interactions are becoming strategic for companies in order to increase performance, improve quality and flexibility, and to face the lack of specialization and of innovation. The aim is to investigate the interactions with sellers in the purchasing approaches of facility services implemented by Italian Municipalities. Methodology. The investigation is based on 15 case studies that are built on in-depth interviews with technical staff who, together with the mayors, perform the role of facility managers. In the empirical analysis, Italian Municipalities are studied in their interaction with suppliers of facility services. Findings. The research shows emerging paradoxes in the purchasing approaches of business services in the public organizations analyzed. From these paradoxes it derives that outsourcing of facility services in Italian Municipalities is associated more to transactions than to interactions and that transactions in facility services do not necessary generate efficiency. Value. Specific normative rules (public administration laws) together with contextual factors (management competences, attitudes in public administration, etc.) hinder and limit the application in public sector of the interaction approaches on business service proposed by service and industrial marketing. The value of the paper is constituted by the analysis in the Italian Municipalities of the facility services’ purchasing models and specially, by the identification of emerging paradoxes that impact on the approaches of buyer-seller interactions in business services proposed by specialized literature.