Of Knights, Knaves and Merchants: The Case of Residential Care for Older People in England in the Late 1990s

This paper examines the motivations of a sample of fifty providers of residential care for older people in England in 1997. The theoretical point of departure is the knights and knaves categorization suggested by Julian Le Grand. A cluster analysis of the expressed motivations of the providers of residential care suggests three types: empathizers, professionals and income prioritizers. These combine knightly and knavish motives in varying degrees. Le Grand's recommendation that strategic policy towards actors in welfare services should be robust about motives is endorsed. However, a third, mercantile, aspect of motivation is revealed reflecting providers' needs to exercise control over, and experience ownership of, their enterprises. This should also be taken into account in the design of policy. Policy decisions that are insensitive to this aspect of motivation are likely to be misguided and flawed.