Organisational choices in public procurement: what can public management learn from the private sector?

ABSTRACT

In the public context, the efficient and effective management of procurement activities has a crucial impact on the achievement of operational and broader government objectives. In particular, the potential contribution of procurement within local governments has been broadly recognized, and organisational procurement choices represent a strategic aspect that must be managed to contribute to these objectives. Through the analysis of data on 371 Italian municipalities, this paper discusses how to design procurement organisation variables for local governments. Three possible organisational models are identified (i.e., authoritative procurement, silo procurement, and local procurement) and discussed from the perspective of internal and external contingencies that may affect organisational decisions.

KEYWORDS:

• Local government procurement
• organisational design
• cluster analysis
• iscriminant function analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrea S. Patrucco

Andrea S. Patrucco is Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management at Penn State University, USA, and one of the leaders of the group that produced the International Research Study of Public Procurement. His research interests centre on supply chain and purchasing management, and he focuses on performance management and organizational design in public procurement and the orchestration of buyer-supplier relationships.

Antonella Moretto

Antonella Moretto is an assistant professor at the School of Management at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy, and an executive committee member of Ipsera, the International Research Association of Purchasing and Supply Management. Her main research interests relate to purchasing and supply management, supply chain finance and sustainable supply chain management.

Stefano Ronchi

Stefano Ronchi is Full Professor of Management at Politecnico di Milano, where he serves as Director of Management Engineering Program (Bachelor and MSc). His primary research field is Purchasing and Supply Management with a particular focus on e-Procurement, Spend Management, Purchasing Key Performance Indicators, Purchasing Organization, Supply Chain Finance, and Public Procurement.

Davide Luzzini

Davide Luzzini is a professor at the EADA Business School and adjunct professor at MIP Graduate School of Business, Spain. He has international teaching experience at all levels, and his research has for many years focused on purchasing and supply chain management, particularly on food and innovation networks, social impact supply chains, and the orchestration of buyer-supplier relationships.