Diss. Stockholm : Kungliga tekniska högskolan. Infrastruktur, 2003

This report studies the effect the opening up of routine road maintenance in Sweden, traditionally carried out by the Swedish National Road Administration (SNRA). The main aim is to study the effect contracting out has had on work quality, transaction costs and the learning organization year 2001. The research is built upon three hypotheses: Hypotheses 1: The SNRA cannot determine if the quality of the work is as contracted. Hypotheses 2: Transaction costs are less than 5% of the production costs. Hypotheses 3: The lack of cooperation of SNRA's regional offices with each other and with the head office makes it difficult for SNRA to function as a learning organization. The main research methods used were interviews, a questionnaire, and participation in various meetings, such as site meetings and quality audits. Great emphasis has been put on the detailed questionnaire, which was sent to client representatives. The report includes a description of the background, definition and use of three theoretical concepts; quality, transaction costs and learning organization.