Recent research on public procurement: Should it become a subfield of public administration?

Abstract

This article presents a descriptive review of public procurement research conducted between 2010 and 2018 based on the coding of a sample of 743 relevant articles. We use the results to build a case for making public procurement a subfield of public administration research. We first present a systematic framework for studying public procurement that lays the ground for the coding strategy. Second, we outline the scope and method of the research, and then describe our findings regarding the most important topics, journals and authors in the recent literature on public procurement. Finally, we suggest how to improve the visibility and relevance of public procurement research in public administration journals.

Purchasing medicines for the public sector: Evaluation of the performance of centralised procurement in Portugal

“…Thus, the authors had to extend this methodology by defining outcome indicators for the impact assessment. Alternatively, the authors could have decided to build their own analytical framework based on theoretical and analytical frameworks for public procurement published in the literature, for example, in public administration research 89,90 . However, the decision to favour MAPS was also influenced by the benefit that MAPS is a hands‐on, well‐tested and quality‐proven methodology.…”

“…Alternatively, the authors could have decided to build their own analytical framework based on theoretical and analytical frameworks for public procurement published in the literature, for example, in public administration research. 89,90 However, the decision to favour MAPS was also influenced by the benefit that MAPS is a hands-on, well-tested and quality-proven methodology. While interviews serving as important data source offered different perspectives and in-depth insights, it is acknowledged that they may contain subjective and incorrect information despite the validation of the minutes.…”

Optimising Public Procurement Through Circular Practice: The Power of Intermediation

“…According to Hudon et al (2021) in literature, the field of PP appears to be fragmented due to the focus on some research subjects and the absence of equally important ones, for instance related to the practice. Moreover, there is a scarcity of research conducted by using those analytical methods such as comparative analysis, programme / policy / project evaluation, and institutional analysis which are typical in public administration studies.…”