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

Abstract

The importance of public procurement cannot be overemphasised, as this is a tool for achieving efficiency and value in acquisition of goods, works and services. Public sector bodies are required to conduct public procurement according to public procurement law. However, user resistance to the compliance of the procurement regulations have been reported in extant literature. Yet, there is lack of research on understanding users' non-compliance of public procurement laws, especially in sub-Saharan Africa nations such as Ghana. This study uses the status quo bias (SQB) theory to investigate why users fail to comply with the public procurement regulations in a Sub-Saharan nation. We collected data from 84 public sector institutions in Ghana and ordinary least square (OLS) regression was used to analyse the measurement and structural models. Three (3) out of the seven (7) hypothesis developed were supported. We offer theoretical and managerial implications.

Compliance with the stipulated procurement process in local governments: a case from a developing nation

“…On the part of Gelderman et al (2006), noncompliance to the procurement law in the European Union is also stated to be attributed to lack of professionalism and familiarity with the procurement law. In Ghana, the reasons for non-compliance to procurement law hovers around the firm resistance to change from the order in which procurement process was being undertaken before the provision of public procurement act (Act 663) by the government (Asamoah et al, 2019). In summary, complexity of procurement law to procurement officer can be termed unprofessional or incompetence which is a function of training received by the procurement officer.…”

“…The Procurement Act is usually an official document that seeks to address ways in which procurement of goods and services are carried out and also redress some of the challenges faced by the old system of procurement. The public procurement act aims to enhance efficiency and realization of value (Asamoah, et al, 2019). The procurement Act 2007 of Nigeria is an official document with clauses targeted at guiding the procurement process.…”

“…In a related submission, Ntayi et al (2009) revealed that millions of dollars are lost to non-compliance with procurement structure and failure to impose necessary sanctions when procurement rules are not followed. Obviously, developing nations are not exempted in the non-compliance to public procurement regulations (Asamoah et al, 2019). Eyaa and Oluka (2011) opined that compliance is the measure with which government of any nation can determine if the country meets the goal and objectives of administrations and provision of basic amenities.…”

“…Basically, several reasons could trigger the challenges of project execution, this include: non-compliance with the procurement laws, entering into the contract without proper and adequate legal relationship and wrong application of procurement management. But, frankly, the procurement law is a veritable tool for achieving efficiency and value in the acquisition of goods, works and services (Asamoah et al,2019). Therefore, the need for strict compliance towards ensuring satisfactory project delivery at the local government cannot be over-emphasized.…”

Transformation to E-Public Procurement in the United Arab Emirates in the Light of Uncitral Model Law

“…The definition of public procurement provided earlier suggests that "electronic public procurement" can describe the use of ICT to establish purchasing between awarding entities and suppliers (Hamad, Al-Sarraf, 2023;Asamoah & Annan, 2019;Tutu, Kissi, Osei-Tutu & Desmond, 2019).…”