Examines, through in‐depth case studies, the process of strategic decision making arising from the management of compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) for catering and cleaning services following the 1988 Local Government Act. Examines in particular the contrasting approaches to the...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose that a redevelopment of Bessant's continuous improvement (CI) model makes a useful contribution to the research and understanding of the development of performance improvement in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach – The paper...