Reinventing government? Explaining management reform at the Hong Kong Housing Authority

In this paper we explain why the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) is embarking upon a substantial programme of management reform to outsource the management and maintenance of 600 000 units of public rental housing. An international management-reform analytical framework is developed which classifies reforms under the headings of finance, management, ownership, and performance. The application of this framework to reform at the HKHA indicates that the emphasis is upon market-led approaches. The management-reform framework is able to explain aspects of the HKHA approach in relation to searches for reduced costs, downsizing, clearer standards, higher quality, and more customers-responsive services. Alone, however, it is unable to explain fully the reform programme. The housing-policy reforms and the government's aim to increase levels of home-ownership are shown to be major contributory factors to the direction adopted by the HKHA. These case-study findings assert the importance of policy processes for the explanation of management reforms and have implications for the analysis of management reforms in many settings.