'Management by Contract': A Study of Programmatic and Technological Aspects

The practice of 'Management by Contract' can — as with any practice — be characterized by programmatic and technological dimensions. These dimensions contain concepts and ideas at the programmatic level, which shape the mission of the practice (concrete tasks and routines) at the technological level. Thus, the former attach the practice to the broader conceptual dimension. In this paper both of these dimensions will be analysed. The aim is to study how quality issues have been managed by contract. The first part presents some of the conceptual arguments of 'Management by Contract'. The arguments of a structure generally used (the Purchaser/Provider split) and a method often used (competitive tendering) will be discussed. The second part presents some technological effects through empirical findings. The paper concludes with an analysis of the interaction or non-interaction between these two dimensions.