Empirical study of tendering practice of Dutch municipalities for the procurement of civil-engineering contracts

Ferguson, N.S.; Langford, D. A.; Chan, WM

doi:10.1016/0263-7863(94)00006-x

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Although the investigations typically focused on the procurement behaviour of national public clients, local public clients were also under suspicion. Earlier research into the Dutch municipalities' procurement approaches had shown that client-contractor relationships were often recurrent, with reputation being an important criterion (Ferguson et al, 1995). Nevertheless, the procurement policies of local authorities were beginning to change towards a more competitive approach (Lourens, 1995).…”

Section: Exposing Cartels and Bid Riggingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collusion in the Dutch construction industry: An industrial organization perspective

Dorée¹

2004

Building Research & Information

115

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Several investigations by parliament, cabinet, justice and antitrust authorities have shown a widespread use of cartels and structural bid rigging within the Dutch construction industry. The reputation of the Dutch construction industry has been dented with both the general public and clients. As a response, the Netherlands' parliamentary inquiry Committee on Construction Fraud adopted the guiding principle of 'competition is good' and urged the restoration of the proper functioning of the market. The proposed default approach to public sector procurement is design-bid-build with public tendering and selection of the lowest price. A concise overview of the investigations is provided, relating the collusions and their persistence to emerging insights from the field of industrial organization theory into underlying factors and causes. A tougher public sector procurement policy and the continued reliance on lowest bid prices may not contribute to the reform of the Dutch construction industry as intended. One-dimensional, price-oriented competition only provides a static, project-based efficiency. However, it neither addresses a number of organizational issues nor resolves the underlying pressures leading to collusion. An alternative approach allowing for a balance of competition and collaboration with a wider number of selection criteria variables would create a more dynamic, iterative competitive process over a longer timeframe and would develop an innovative, efficient and profitable industry. Although the inquiry committee acknowledges these new methods of procurement, it is expected that the overriding ambition to restore proper market function (through increased competition) will steer towards the more traditional procurement approaches.

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Section: Exposing Cartels and Bid Riggingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collusion in the Dutch construction industry: An industrial organization perspective

Dorée¹

2004

Building Research & Information

115

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“…Ewerhart and Fieseler, 2003). Research into the procurement of construction projects has revealed that there are a limited number of frequently used tendering procedures (Ferguson et al ., 1995;Bajari and Tadelis, 2006). These include: (1) the open public tender procedure; (2) the negotiated tender procedure with only a single contractor; and (3) the negotiated tender procedure with multiple competitors (usually between two and six).…”

Section: Methods Of Contractingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Construction contracting and civil–military interaction

Kremers

Rietjens

Voordijk

et al. 2010

Construction Management and Economics

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There is a need for improved insights into the contracting process for construction projects that the military contract out to civil contractors in the specific setting of civil–military interaction (CMI) in regions that are suffering from instability and armed conflict. The core questions are: what are the key criteria for contracting out CMI projects in out‐of‐area operations, and what contracting methods are appropriate? First, we discuss possible methods and key criteria for contracting out CMI projects. Following this, a case study based in the Uruzgan province of Afghanistan explores key criteria for contracting out CMI projects. Based on this case study, the following five CMI‐related criteria have been identified: generating information on the civilian environment; contributing to building local capacity; process transparency; force acceptance and local participation; and contracting as a tool for stability. These criteria dominate more regular criteria such as cost and time. Some methods frequently used in developed economies, for example the open public tender procedure, seem less appropriate when contracting out CMI projects within a military mission. In CMI projects, contracting most closely resembles the multiple negotiated tender procedure. Future projects can use the identified range of methods and key criteria in designing an improved contracting process.Contracting, tendering, Afghanistan, military mission, criteria,

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“…Contractor selection innovation Ferguson et al (1995) focussing on Dutch tendering practice; Kumaraswamy (1996) who presented a Hong Kong perspective; and observation of European contract award by Lambropoulos (2007) and Topcu (2004). Other, setting-specific justification includes the work of Yiu et al (2002) that addressed the "dearth of research" aimed specifically at building and maintenance CSn; Aziz (2008) whose study related to highway pavement project contractors; a study aimed at apartment block maintenance contractors by Zavadskas and Vilutienė (2006); and Juan et al (2009) whose focus was housing refurbishment contractors.…”

Section: Csn Research Focus and Justificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contractor selection innovation: examination of two decades' published research

Holt

2010

Construction Innovation

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Purpose -The "problem" of selecting a contractor has attracted significant academic research endeavour over the last two decades. The principal aim here is to examine that research via published academic outputs for the period circa 1990-2009. Design/methodology/approach -A sample of published contractor selection (CSn) research is critically appraised. Aspects highlighted include: stated aims and research justification; methodological approaches employed; research tools used; and products of CSn research. Findings -Main research foci are observed as: modelling the CSn process; studying selection criteria; and "interrogation" of existing CSn systems. Foci justifiers are linked mainly to the "importance" and "difficulties" of CSn decision making. Deterministic modelling of CSn is the favoured methodological approach, followed by documentary synthesis then questionnaire surveys. Preferred research tools are found to be system interrogation, rank order analysis and Likert scale/importance indices, with hypothesis testing and "other" methods used less so. Almost two-thirds of research products are CSn models, with derived or proffered processes, and knowledge relating to CSn criteria, between them representing approximately the remaining third of output. Research limitations/implications -It is suggested that many of the CSn models exhibit as much complexity as the original "problem" they sought to resolve, while the reliability and longevity of suggested "cocktails" of CSn criteria (in practice), might be questioned. A call for future research products to more closely consider end-user impact and potential for "take-up" by industry is made. An empirical follow-on study to assess (inter alia) practitioner use and "value" of CSn research is proposed. Practical implications -The paper signals a possible need for greater industrial engagement in the research domain. Originality/value -The findings are novel to this paper.

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Empirical study of tendering practice of Dutch municipalities for the procurement of civil-engineering contracts

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Collusion in the Dutch construction industry: An industrial organization perspective

Collusion in the Dutch construction industry: An industrial organization perspective

Construction contracting and civil–military interaction

Contractor selection innovation: examination of two decades' published research

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