An exploration of knowledge-based factors affecting procurement compliance

Abstract

Public procurement officials are bound by extensive policies, procedures, and laws. However, procurement professionals perpetually struggle to comply with these vast requirements — particularly in the acquisition of services. The purpose of this research is to explore knowledge-based factors affecting compliance of service contracts. A regression model using data acquired via survey from 219 U.S. Government procurement professionals reveals that the extent of compliance is affected by buyer experience, personnel turnover, the sufficiency with which service requirements are defined, post-award buyer-supplier communication, and the sufficiency of procurement lead time. From these results, implications for practice and theory are drawn. The study concludes with a discussion of limitations and directions for future research.

Non-Compliance in Public Procurement – Comparative Study under EU Law

“…Research on public procurement was devoted to examining the potential causes of non-compliance to ensure that risks were avoided. It was frequently hypothesised that the complicated regulations pose high risks of inefficient ways of spending funds (these rules increase transaction costs for buyers and suppliers) and they raise risks in terms of achieving public goals (Hawkins and Muir, 2014). Gelderman, Ghijsen and Brugman (2006) identified four groups of potential reasons for non-compliance.…”

“…Their results about the main facilitators of and barriers to engagement with sustainable procurement in the public sector show that if government policy and legislation is supportive of sustainable purchasing, public sector organisations are more likely to implement sustainable purchasing. Investigating US practice, Hawkins and Muir (2014) highlighted that effectiveness of public procurement depends on mastery of vast knowledge (especially the accumulated knowledge of the individual agent), and it also promotes compliance with the laws.…”

The Association between Institutional Absorptive Capacity, Electronic Procurement Assimilation and Procurement Process in Public Sector Organizations

“…Experience accumulation and knowledge articulation are essential in developing capability with an organization [18]. It is stated that Federal agencies in the USA should hire contractors who have adequate knowledge, competence and experience in contract management [4].…”

The influence of the status quo bias theory in the compliance to public procurement regulations in a Sub-Saharan economy

“…Compliance to procurement laws and regulations is a requirement that public procurement managers must adhere to. However, in most situations, public procurement managers struggle to comply with most requirements for the acquisition of goods, works and services, thereby resisting them (Hawkins and Muir, 2014). Procurement laws and regulations tend to be mostly self-perpetuating and as such managers and even lawmakers react to associated problems associated by implementing additional rules, thereby inviting more opportunity for resistance (Coopers and Lybrand, 1994).…”