Assessing the implementation of sustainable public procurement using quantitative text-analysis tools: A large-scale analysis of Belgian public procurement notices

Public organizations are using sustainable public procurement (SPP) as a policy tool to address societal and environmental issues. Having a policy on SPP however does not guarantee implementation. Several barriers have for example been identified that prevent public procurers from implementing SPP in their procurement projects, such as financial constraints, lack of knowledge or motivation. The question therefore arises how much SPP public organizations actually implement in their procurement projects. However, existing studies often focus on the environmental part of SPP and often rely on using interviews or surveys to assess the perceived degree of SPP (which have been accused of being subject to social desirability bias and low response rates). Little is therefore known about what SPP is in practice, and how frequently it is implemented. In this study, we therefore provide a detailed operationalization of SPP that encompasses the full concept. We subsequently assess the implementation of SPP in practice using text mining techniques to analyse over 140.000 Belgian public procurement notices that were published between 2011 and 2016. The research shows that in more than 70% of the notices (with an annex) SPP is implemented, but there appears to be a downward trend. It seems that SPP is implemented less over time, rather than more. Environmentally friendly procurement was, relative to other types of SPP, prevalent over time and across regions. For SPP to live up to its potential there are thus still barriers to be overcome.     

Promoting competitive markets: The role of public procurement

The study presented here examines how public procurement agencies address establishing and maintaining competitive markets; a topic still in its academic infancy. Cases are used to address impediments and improve understanding of strategic priorities in managing for competitive markets. Public policy academics have observed many competing policies in the wider public sector. Specifically, this paper identifies a need for research on supplier incentives at a market level, on the post contract management of suppliers and as an important sub-set, key supplier relationship management, along with professional development.     

Innovation and public procurement: Terminology,concepts, and applications

The growing awareness of public procurement as an innovation policy tool has recently sparked the interest of both policy makers and researchers. While an increasing number of studies is being published every year, an overview of the field is missing. Researchers, practitioners, and policy makers are often using ambiguous wording and have not yet reached consensus on the terminology and concepts involved. This state of affairs leads to research fragmentation and lack of knowledge convergence. For the purpose of contributing to knowledge synthesis and consolidation, this article provides a structured review of the literature on innovation in public procurement. From categorizing publications based on innovation drivers, concepts, and research approaches, the emerging structure of the field is described and synthesized into a framework of innovation in public procurement. The proposed framework differentiates between literature streams on (1) innovations in the public procurement process, (2) innovation of public services by means of procurement, and (3) the use of public procurement as a tool for demand-side innovation policy-making. For each of these streams of literature, different focus areas as well as research gaps and opportunities for future research are identified. Based on analysis of existing research, the proposed framework provides an overview of state-of-the-art knowledge, a unified terminology, and a holistic understanding of innovation in public procurement. The framework is both a point of departure for future research and a source of knowledge for practitioners.     

Public–private partnership—Development of long-term relationships in public procurement in Germany

Hybrid partnerships are well established in the private sector combining market efficiency with the possibility of hierarchical steering mechanisms. By implementing Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs), public authorities seek to benefit from cooperation with specialised suppliers. However, many complex factors, including legal regulations, have to be considered in relation to outsourcing activities in the public sector. The decision on public–private cooperation is not driven only by economic principles. This paper deals with the economic and legal decision process of PPPs. The theoretical and legal framework is then applied and illustrated through a case study of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V./DLR).     

Capturing the value creation in public procurement: A practice-based view

Public procurement has struggled to fulfill its mission to create public value due to a narrow interpretation of value emphasizing the costs of procured goods and services. A holistic view of multidimensional value creation in the context of public procurement has received limited research attention despite a significant body of research on the potential benefits associated with public procurement. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by analyzing the value components and means of value creation developed through public procurement activities. We conduct a systematic literature review and content analysis of 171 research articles to determine the constituents of the value of public procurement and the practices needed to achieve them. Using the theoretical lens of the practice-based view, we propose a conceptual framework that holistically integrates different components of the value of public procurement for the public buyer, supplier, and user, along with the practices needed to achieve them. The study contributes to the literature by offering a multidimensional conceptual framework, a structured review of value components and associated practices, and the application of the practice-based view as the theoretical lens, all of which have implications for practice and theory.     

Barriers to innovation through public procurement: A supplier perspective

Public procurement is increasingly viewed as having important potential to drive innovation. Despite this interest, numerous barriers prevent the public sector from acting as an intelligent and informed customer. This paper seeks to understand how barriers related to processes, competences, procedures and relationships in public procurement influence suppliers? ability to innovate and to reap the benefits of innovation. We address this by exploiting a dedicated survey of public sector suppliers in the UK, using a probit model to investigate the influence of structural, market and innovation determinants on suppliers? perception of these barriers.     

Innovative practices in public procurement partnerships: The case of the United States

Public procurement partnerships represent a new approach to conducting government acquisition. These partnerships are predicated on the notion that governments today simply lack the requisite knowledge, skills and financing to provide core public services and acquire sophisticated services, IT and knowledge development by themselves. Instead, governments need to enlist the collective energies of the governmental, business and non-profit (third) sectors. This research looks at the concept of public procurement partnerships in the United States and the major trends promoting their use. Two case examples of public procurement partnerships are presented; one from the perspective of a government partner, the other from the perspective of a private (third) sector partner.     

Price/time/intellectual efficiency of procurement: Uncovering the related factors in Chinese public authorities

High efficiency is one of the important goals of public procurement (PP); however, research on PP efficiency is still not sufficient, especially in the context of developing countries. With a focus on the purchasing phase, this study measures three aspects of procurement efficiency of public authorities: price, time and intellectual efficiency. The relevant factors of these three aspects are explored and examined. 838 PP contracts in Chengdu city, China were collected in the first half of 2018 using a web crawler programme. Regression method is used to analyse the data. This study finds that the price efficiency of PP is negatively associated with the implementation of green public procurement (GPP) but is positively associated with the evaluation method (the weight of bidding price during evaluation) and the number of bidders. Time efficiency is negatively associated with GPP implementation. Intellectual efficiency is negatively associated with the size of the procurement. This study accomplishes the following: I. extends research to a still relatively unexplored context: developing countries; II. adds to the studies on public procurement efficiency; and III. investigates the influence of GPP implementation on PP efficiency in a developing country.     

Service specification in pre-tender phase of public procurement - A triadic model of meaningful involvement

The purpose of this research is to define the actor roles and collaborative practices that are central to service specification co-development in relation to the pre-tender phase of public procurement. We propose a new model of meaningful stakeholder involvement in the context of public service specification as a triadic setting. In addition to the theoretical value, the proposed model guides public procurement units on how to define their roles as intermediaries and to design a service specification process involving internal customers and providers of a service. The approach adopted highlights the meaningfulness of involvement by referring to the types of cooperative roles and practices that are both suitable for the situation and well understood and implemented by the cooperative parties. Service specification co-development is defined as a triadic setting involving buyers, service providers, and internal customers. This study consists of two longitudinal empirical public procurement cases viewed with the aid of a theoretical framework drawn from the general involvement and public-sector-specific involvement literature. Managerial implications relate to involving stakeholders early in the process, focusing on value creating activities, and sharing relevant information throughout the pre-tender phase.     

The long shadow of public policy; Barriers to a value-based approach in healthcare procurement

Procurement in the UKs National Health Service (NHS) is facing its most significant financial challenge. Despite the sheer scale and complexities of the public healthcare sector, the Government's solutions are all too often packaged as "collaborate more", "standardise products" and "leverage spend". Unfortunately, these over simplistic solutions take a myopic view of market drivers, conflate spend with potential savings and fail to deliver value. Many contracts have already been commercially optimised yet the funding crisis continues to deepen. New value-based procurement approaches are needed to drive longer-term innovation and cost reduction and to move debates from efficiencies to embrace effectiveness in integrated supply chains. In this research, we adopt the resource-based view (RBV) as a lens to explore the extent to which NHS resources support the strategic adoption of value-based approaches. An empirical case study on a regional cluster of six NHS Trusts in England, confirms the dominance of narrow price-based approaches that create barriers to moving towards longer-term, valuebased procurement. The antecedent roots of price-based approaches are unpicked through a hermeneutic analysis of recent Government commissioned reports to show how these have set the tone, culture and priorities for healthcare procurement in the UK. The analysis provides explanatory power to the case study by illustrating how Government reports have led to, and legitimised the dominance of price-based approaches and caused relational and resource-based barriers to adopting value-based procurement, despite stakeholder enthusiasm. The findings provide unique insights into why public procurement has struggled to reach beyond its traditional cost orientated scope. We contribute to an extended consideration of the RBV in public organisations through identifying the role of the policy environment in determining and legitimatising an organisation's strategic direction.     

Towards a common understanding of the differences between purchasing, procurement and commissioning in the UK public sector

This paper recognises that commissioning has now become an important term in the lexicon of UK public policy but the term ‘commissioning’ is taking on a different meaning than that traditionally used within the purchasing and supply management community. The frequent inter-changeability of the terms ‘commissioning’, ‘procurement’ and ‘purchasing’ is now causing confusion and means different things to different people. Therefore the academic community needs to help practitioners understand the differences and implications. A document analysis of various UK Central Government departments’ commissioning frameworks was used to establish the key themes and compare commissioning, procurement and purchasing. This paper discusses the similarities and differences, and argues that commissioning is different from procurement, but that commissioning offers major opportunities for Procurement practitioners to make a strategic contribution.     

Supporting decision-making process in facilities management services procurement: A methodological approach

The aim of this paper is to make a contribution to the decision-making process related to procurement of facilities management services in the public sector, particularly with reference to local authorities. Adopting a contingency approach, a model for selecting sourcing strategies is presented. Some empirical evidence resulting from the analysis of various managers’ experiences is reported and, based on the results of the testing of the model, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Sustainability challenges in public health sector procurement: An application of interpretative structural modelling

Sustainable procurement is an integral part of public sector sustainability, but developing countries are far behind in this area. This study explores the internal and external challenges in Pakistan's public health sector that hamper sustainable procurement. With the help of experts, we found eleven key challenges that hamper sustainability in public health sector procurement. We designed an instrument and fielded it to eighty-five procurement officials in government hospitals, who verified the presence of the challenges in health sector. The interpretative structural modelling (ISM) we used to develop a hierarchy among the identified challenges reflects that government regulations and senior management's commitment—all strategic challenges—are the most critical challenges, whereas perceived ineffectiveness, third-party involvement, and the unavailability of green products—all operational challenges—are less critical. The study presents comprehensive recommendations to policymakers and future researchers related to achieving sustainable development goals in the health sector.     

Capability hierarchy in electronic procurement and procurement process performance: An empirical analysis

This paper examines the interrelationship between two hierarchically structured functional capabilities pertinent in the organizational procurement process, and the impact of these capabilities on procurement process performance. These functional capabilities operate at different levels in an organization's procurement process. We draw upon resource- and knowledge-based views of the firm to theorize that in this hierarchy of information technology-enabled procurement capabilities, the higher-level capability – procurement integration competence – enables firms to develop and deploy a lower-level capability – digital procurement competence. Further, we theorize that the lower-level capability impacts procurement process performance directly and completely mediates the relationship between higher-level capability and performance. Thus, although performance is impacted directly only by the lower-level capability, the higher-level capability facilitates the development and use of the lower-level capability. Our research model is tested using survey data from a large sample of 412 manufacturing firms. The results provide strong support for the proposed research model. In particular, we find that as hypothesized, the impact of procurement integration competence on performance is completely mediated by digital procurement competence. Our results suggest that when examined at the procurement process level, the impact of higher-level capabilities may be manifested completely through the lower-level capabilities. Theoretical and practical implications of the research are discussed.     

Political contestability and public contract rigidity: An analysis of procurement contracts

Are public contracts less adaptable than private contracts? Using a comprehensive set of contracts for a standard product, we compare procurement contracts in which the procurer is either a public administration or a private corporation. We find that public‐to‐private contracts feature more rigidity clauses than private‐to‐private contracts and that the use of rigidity clauses in public contracts rises when political risks are more salient. We argue that a significant part of the increased rigidity of public contracts is a contractual adaptation to limit political hazards from political opponents and interested third parties.     

Green public procurement: An empirical analysis of the uptake of organic food policy

This paper analyses the uptake of a voluntary green public procurement policy in Sweden. The policy, decided in 2006, stated a national goal for the public sector to increase its share of organic food purchases to 25% by 2010. The overall purpose was to increase organic farming. Municipalities, which are highly independent authorities with self-determination, were encouraged to formulate own political goals. Based on survey data on organic food purchases for the period 2003–2016, supplemented with data on municipality characteristics, we analyse the determinants of the local uptake of the national policy, accounting for potential selection bias. The main finding is that local political goals are set and that these have in turn, a significant and positive effect on the share of organic food purchases. This suggests that there is an uptake of the voluntary policy. Also, we find that the increase in expenditures per capita devoted to organic food is quite substantial following the adoption of a local policy.     

New roles for end-users in innovative public procurement: case study on user engaging property procurement

Improving valued outcomes of public procurement lies in user and community co-production. Applying insight from network role theory, this case study tackles challenges faced by both procurer and supplier in interacting with diverse service end-users in various procurement situations. The findings are based on interview, participant observation, and documentation data from three innovative property procurement projects. We suggest four situation-specific roles end-users adopt: conventional, cooperative, collaborative, and controlling. The article reasserts the dispute of viewing end-user’s role only through interpretation of either private-sector consumer or public-sector citizen, while a mix of both views is needed.     

Conditions and benefits of applying decision technological solutions as a tool to curb corruption within the procurement process: The case of Hungary

Unethically influencing a decision maker is as old as civilization. Corruption is an especially damaging phenomenon in the field of public procurement. Experiences in curbing procurement corruption in Hungary, a former Eastern-block country which recently joined the EU, strengthens the view that by raising the level of evaluation practices through the use of decision support methodologies that can serve to narrow the possible damaging effects of corruption. This outcome may be achieved if legal regulations provide a supportive frame and organizational culture can be shaped to accommodate new decision practices.     

The clash of managerial and professional logics in public procurement: Implications for innovation in the health-care sector

This article addresses the enactment of public procurement and its influence on adoption and diffusion of innovation, using a case study of public procurement of a low-tech medical device innovation in Swedish healthcare. Based on interviews and documentation, the article illustrates the various perspectives of the different professions involved in the complex task of setting the requirement specification for the tender. The technology identities of the medical device (innovation) are constructed and negotiated by the actors: procurement administrators, health-care professionals and suppliers within the adoption space. Examining the enactment of the procurement process as part of the adoption space is a way to deepen our understanding of the social component within public procurement.     

Sustainable procurement in Malaysian organizations: Practices,barriers and opportunities

The purpose of this study is to uncover the extent of sustainable procurement practices amongst procurement directors/managers employed in public and private sector organizations in Malaysia, a developing country where socialization is underpinned by religious beliefs. The results showed there is a significant variation in the adoption of sustainable procurement across the sectors with the private sector registering significantly higher levels of SP practices than their public counterparts. Lack of awareness posed the most significant barrier to sustainable procurement implementation regardless of organizations or sectors whilst improved working conditions, an organization׳s/council׳s/public image, and organizational efficiency and transparency provided optimal opportunities for implementing sustainable procurement practices. Finally this study identified the two new factors of religion and sense of humanity as influencing an employee׳s engagement in sustainable procurement practices.