The institutional drivers of social procurement implementation in Australian construction projects

Loosemore, Martin; Alkilani, Suhair; Murphy, Rodney

doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2021.07.002

Cited by 41 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Therefore a multiple stakeholder perspective is critical in understanding what the risks and opportunities of social procurement are for the numerous organisations involved. Indeed, given the lack of experience of most construction project managers in social procurement (Loosemore et al, 2021), the challenges of fostering collaboration across these diverse sectors to optimise social procurement outcomes is likely to be extremely challenging. For example, in contrast to much project management literature which points to the many benefits of collaborative relationships within projects (Galvin et al, 2021;Walker and Rowlinson, 2019), research into the challenges of collaborating across diverse sectors (government, not-for-profit, community, private business) in other fields such as public administration, indicates that these new cross-sector arrangement will be characterised by different institutional logics, interests, experiences, expectations and goals, which means that consensus cannot be assumed (Keast and Mandell, 2014;Keast, 2015).…”

Section: The Risks and Opportunities Of Social Procurement In Constru...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Raiden et al (2019) and Troje and Andersson (2020) note that when compared to more "normalised" areas of policy innovation like sustainability, social innovations like social procurement require the integration of new norms, processes, nomenclatures and cross-sector relationships Furthermore, while there has been considerable research into collaborative contracting IJMPB 15,5 in the project management literature (Walker and Rowlinson, 2019;Galvin et al, 2021) this has not addressed the risks and opportunities posed by the new cross-sector collaborations which social procurement policies incentivise. Indeed, there are currently only two references to social procurement in the project management research literature and neither explore the relational challenges of implementing social procurement at a project level (Loosemore, 2016;Loosemore et al, 2021). Although the related concepts cross-sector collaboration in sustainability (Keeys and Huemann, 2017) and project value from a multi-stakeholder perspective (Zerjav et al, 2021) have been explored in the field of project management, the collaborative risks and opportunities involved in implementing social procurement in major project-based industries like construction, which are the target of these policies have not.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, 2021) this has not addressed the risks and opportunities posed by the new cross-sector collaborations which social procurement policies incentivise. Indeed, there are currently only two references to social procurement in the project management research literature and neither explore the relational challenges of implementing social procurement at a project level (Loosemore, 2016; Loosemore et al. , 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The risks and opportunities of social procurement in construction projects: a cross-sector collaboration perspective

Loosemore

Keast

Barraket

et al. 2022

IJMPB

Self Cite

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PurposeThis research addresses the lack of project management research into social procurement by exploring the risks and opportunities of social procurement from a cross-sector collaboration perspective.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis of five focus groups conducted with thirty-five stakeholders involved in the implementation of a unique social procurement initiative on a major Australian construction project is reported.FindingsResults show little collective understanding among project stakeholders for what social procurement policies can achieve, a focus on downside risk rather than upside opportunity and perceptions of distributive injustice about the way new social procurement risks are being managed. Also highlighted is the tension between the collaborative intent of social procurement requirements and the dynamic, fragmented and temporary project-based construction industry into which they are being introduced. Ironically, this can lead to opportunistic behaviours to the detriment of the vulnerable people these policies are meant to help.Practical implicationsThe paper concludes by presenting a new conceptual framework of project risk and opportunity management from a social procurement perspective. Deficiencies in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) are also highlighted around an expanded project management role in meeting these new project management requirements.Originality/valueSocial procurement is becoming increasingly popular in many countries as a collaborative mechanism to ensure construction and infrastructure projects contribute positively to the communities in which they are built. This research addresses the lack of project management research into social procurement by exploring the risks and opportunities of social procurement from a cross-sector collaboration perspective.

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Section: The Risks and Opportunities Of Social Procurement In Constru...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The risks and opportunities of social procurement in construction projects: a cross-sector collaboration perspective

Loosemore

Keast

Barraket

et al. 2022

IJMPB

Self Cite

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“…Recently some authors (e.g. Loosemore et al, 2021) have called for the incorporation and study of a responsible social approach in the field of public tenders.…”

Section: Cross-border Public Procurement and Smesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The upcoming rise of SMEs in cross-border public procurement: is it a matter of networking capabilities?

et al. 2022

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The participation of SMEs in public procurement is a recurring theme in recent academic literature. However, little attention has been paid to its influence in cross-border procurement. To participate in this market, SMEs must overcome barriers that make the task difficult and minimise their chances of winning contracts. Within this context, dynamic capabilities in general, and networking ones in particular, are crucial to overcome barriers and boost performance. This article presents an abductive qualitative research study of multiple cases using CAQDAS to analyse which networking capabilities prepare SMEs for cross-border public procurement processes. The results show not only how these capabilities have enabled SMEs to perform well in this environment but also which barriers have helped them to overcome each phase of the procurement process. The article also provides recommendations for both SMEs that decide to enter this market and the administrations that wish to support them.

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“…However, there is no empirical data in the scholarly journals about the relationship between strategic public procurement and SMEs in the Australian and New Zealand context. We can slightly qualify this by referring to the ground-breaking work around social procurement in Australia (Barraket, 2020;Loosemore et al, 2021), that begins to look more deeply at the relationships between procurement, social enterprise and innovation. This literature does not directly answer our question, so it is not included in the final cut of articles but is included in the wider analysis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Strategic public procurement for SMEs work?

Allen

2021

Evidence Base

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Strategic public procurement increasingly involves programs and approaches directed at SMEs, within the wider growing field of public procurement studies. This review considers whether strategic public procurement for SMEs works in the context of the peer-reviewed scholarly evidence that is available. The article looks at SME definitions and participation in the public sector marketplace, and briefly explores the policy context of Australia and New Zealand. The review identified twenty-two studies that met the inclusion for the review, but also weaves in important articles that support the evidence that may not have met the strict criteria. The review found little evidence in relation to Australia and New Zealand, leading to the first conclusion that that baseline information is sorely lacking while policy continues to evolve. SME-friendly procurement policies are hard to measure although the growing use of targets could begin to ameliorate this. The diversity of SMEs requires more nuanced policy development and public procurement organizations need to continue to work at reducing barriers to market entry through a variety of methods. Procurement policy for SMEs needs to be fully implemented, tracked and reviewed in order to understand its effects in different contexts.

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The institutional drivers of social procurement implementation in Australian construction projects

Cited by 41 publications

References 37 publications

The risks and opportunities of social procurement in construction projects: a cross-sector collaboration perspective

The risks and opportunities of social procurement in construction projects: a cross-sector collaboration perspective

The upcoming rise of SMEs in cross-border public procurement: is it a matter of networking capabilities?

Does Strategic public procurement for SMEs work?

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