EN
Contracting out is the prevalent types of alternative service-delivery arrangements in public sector. The literature suggests that if the contracting is properly implemented, then it will improve cost-effectiveness, delivery quality, and expenditure control. Using new Slovak data, we explain why contracting does not always produce the expected positive results. We seek to determine the factors that account for success in contracting for public sector services, by testing for a link between contracting performance and quality of contract management. This study uses a quantitative approach to analyse our original survey data. The findings are not positive, because although competitive selection is the key factor determining success, non-competitive selection of suppliers prevails in Slovakia.