Value creation in public procurement of innovation: a case of engaging start-ups by a local government

ABSTRACT

We examine a recent theory by Austin and Seitanidi which proposes a framework for analysing value creation in inter-organisational collaborations. Le Pennec and Raufflet offer an empirical examination of Austin and Seitanidi’s model and provide a critical path in the form of a pyramid among diverse types of value created during collaborative processes. Associational value is the base of the pyramid, followed by transferred resource, interactional, and synergistic value. We examine a case of public procurement of innovation in which a local government worked with start-ups to address civic issues. We identify what types of value are created in public-purpose collaborations between a local government and start-ups, and how those values interact with each other. The study extends Le Pennec and Raufflet’s pyramid by providing evidence of a dynamic path in the creation of diverse types of value in a collaborative process of public procurement of innovation where start-ups are engaged.

KEYWORDS:

• Value creation
• collaboration
• public procurement of innovation
• start-ups
• local government

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alireza Talebi

Alireza Talebi is an assistant professor in the Department of Management, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. His research examines public procurement, start-up engagement, and open innovation, with an emphasis on local governments and involved stakeholders. One of his most recent papers, with Davar Rezania, is ‘Governance of projects in public procurement of innovation: a multi-level perspective’ in the Journal of Public Procurement.

Davar Rezania

Davar Rezania is an associate professor in the Department of Management, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. His research focuses on the management of projects, and his most recent paper, with Alireza Talebi, is ‘Governance of projects in public procurement of innovation: a multi-level perspective’ in the Journal of Public Procurement.

George Bragues

George Bragues is the Interim Vice-Provost of the University of Guelph-Humber. His writings have spanned the disciplines of business, economics, politics, and philosophy. His books include Money, Markets, and Democracy: Politically Skewed Financial Markets and How to Fix Them (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) and Cooperation and Excellence: A Pre-Modern Case for Capitalism (Lexington Books, 2017).