Abstract
This article analyzes the ways in which public sector service providers may use service
delivery failure as a way of securing resources. In tactical service failure, an organization tactically
delivers non-adequate service, so as to project a media image of being harmed by its funding
cuts. Analyzing this process enables new insight into both public funding and provider to funder
(P2F) marketing and selling. This research uses a single case study method to confirm the
existence of the phenomenon first detected through long-term media analysis. To explore the
single case, the authors interviewed a former city official who participated in tactical service failure
processes and their marketing. The article shows how and why service providers may opt for this
tactic, as well as the potential gains and pitfalls of utilizing it. It also provides new insight into how
media connections are used to influence public funding decisions.