Managing Competing Interests: A Review of Ethics in Military Procurement

Abstract

Conflicts of interest represent an increasing problem in organizations, given the expansion of stakeholder concerns, needs, and expectations. Existing remedies to address these conflicts largely involve aligning management incentives with the interests of investors, or recusing parties with special interests from the decision-making effort. Both focus on a dyad between the primary stakeholder and the decision-maker. However, increasingly complex situations involving multiple stakeholders exist. The added complexity of considering multiple stakeholders heightens uncertainty that can facilitate the pursuit of self-interest. Ironically, a potential remedy may involve ensuring the presence of competing interests. A review of military procurement suggests that competing interests can mitigate self-interest.

Keywords:

• agency theory
• competing interests
• conflicts of interest
• ethics
• military procurement
• organizational theory
• stakeholder theory

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Douglas A. Brooks and Marc Anderson for commenting on drafts of this article, Manfred F. Meine for his editioral guidance, and the anonymous reviewers for their comments. The provided feedback was instrumental in the development of this work.