Private Action for Public Purpose

This book analyses the private provision of rescue and emergency services, and focuses on the emergence of the world's largest rescue company, Falck. The author's structured academic perspective is informed through close co-operation with Falck, which operates in 44 countries and across 6 continents. The chapters examine aspects of reliability, culture, innovation, trust, governance and business development within rescue and emergency services, including differentiation, internationalisation and globalisation. Drawing on detailed case studies of Falck's global work in the USA, Columbia, India and Denmark, Private Action for Public Purpose is instructive for students and researchers of business and management, and will provide value for emergency responders, managers, policy-makers and organisations involved in emergency response and crisis management.

Alex Murdock is Professor Emeritus at London South Bank University and visiting Professor at the University of Potsdam in Germany.  His research focusses on the intersection of the private, public and non-profit sectors, and he has worked at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Alex has held senior government posts in London, England and trained as a Probation Officer.