Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) involvement in the marketplace for public sector contracts has been the subject of scholarly interest for some time. Studies undertaken to date have largely concentrated on SME resource disadvantage relative to large firms in competing for and winning public sector contracts. Much less attention has been paid to disadvantage within the SME population and how factors such as size, sector and owner characteristics affect SME tendering. In response, this paper examines the relationship between size and SME public sector tendering. Findings show that size as measured by number of employees significantly influences SMEs' tendering resources, behaviour, and success; micro-enterprises, in particular, are found to be resource disadvantaged, tender less often, and have lower success rates compared to small and medium-sized enterprises. These findings support the case for recognising SMEs as heterogeneous tenderers and point to the need for more focused research on how SME characteristics influence ability and willingness to tender. Questions are also raised over the efficacy of current 'one-size-fits-all' policy for facilitating SME access to public procurement.

Purpose Drawing on statements made under the transparency in supply chains provision of the UK Modern Slavery Act, this paper aims to examine how firms are responding to modern slavery risks in their supply chains. Design/methodology/approach Using an institutional theory lens, a content analysis of modern slavery statements by financial times stock exchange (FTSE) firms is carried out. The analysis focusses on sources of modern slavery institutional pressure and changes that firms have made in their structures, policies and practices in response to modern slavery risks. Findings Three sources of institutional pressure are inferred from modern slavery statements: international human rights accords (coercive), multi-stakeholder initiatives (mimetic) and professional standards (normative). Changes made by firms in direct response to modern slavery include adopting new policies, strengthening contract terms, establishing working/steering groups and creating new key performance indicators. FTSE 100 firms have been more proactive than FTSE 250 firms in making these changes, as have firms in higher risk industries. Research limitations/implications The analysis covers FTSE firms only. Responses to modern slavery risks by non-FTSE firms deserve attention. Practical implications The UK Modern Slavery Act relies on non-government organisations and consumers to hold firms to account over modern slavery. Policymakers should be aware that while this strategy might work with high profile firms, it is less applicable to firms that operate below the public radar. Originality/value The paper shows that institutional theory has validity for explaining corporate responses to modern slavery risks.

This paper examines the role of theory in public procurement research. Theoretical rigour is integral to management science, yet little is known on the extent and form of theory in public procurement. With the field starting to mature, addressing this issue is timely. From conducting a systematic literature review we find that 29 percent of articles are theoretically grounded, with the incidence of theory having increased in recent years. Economic, sociological, psychological, and management theories are all in evidence, but micro-economic theories predominate. Our findings also show that survey reporting and case studies account for almost half of all studies; procurement research is focused on organizational-level aspects more than regulatory-policy issues or public buyers; and studies to date have largely emanated from the North American and European regions. The contribution of this paper lies in clarifying the theoretical underpinnings of public procurement. Out of this we highlight the need for greater theoretical rigour, point to the under-use and even absence of theories that could have high validity and utility, and suggest a narrowing of research foci.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the determinants of corporate compliance with the transparency in supply chains provision of the UK Modern Slavery Act. While recent scholarship has described what firms are doing to comply with this Act, no attempt has been made to explain their behaviour. Design/methodology/approach A predictive model of corporate compliance with modern slavery reporting is tested using secondary data from Financial Times Stock Exchange 350 firms. The model is informed by institutional theory and, in particular, by Oliver’s (1991) insights into the conditions under, which firms respond to institutional pressures. Findings Compliance with modern slavery reporting is found to be significantly related to firm size, prior social responsibility commitment, network involvement, industry and headquarter base (UK versus non-UK). Other predictors such as media exposure, shareholder concentration and profitability are found to be non-significant. Research limitations/implications The focus is on the 350 largest publicly listed companies in the UK. The stances that firms outside of this cohort are taking on modern slavery reporting still need to be investigated. Practical implications Compliance with the UK Modern Slavery Act varies by industry. Regulators should consider this as a part of risk profiling strategies and follow-up inspection of firms. Originality/value This paper provides the first theoretically grounded examination of the organisational and environmental factors that determine corporate compliance with modern slavery reporting.

Policies aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now standard in public procurement. Interest in these policies has yet to be matched by evidence on their implementation. Using an institutional perspective, we examine the extent to which public buyers have complied with SME-friendly policy recommendations. The results, which are based on the self-reported behaviours of 436 respondents, show that public buyers are complying with some but not all policy measures. Compliance is high on measures including open tendering, provision of feedback, and self-declaring financial capacity but low on measures which impose higher transaction costs, such as dividing contracts into lots and encouraging consortium bidding.Further analysis reveals that involvement in procurement, policy familiarity, and perceived importance of SME access act as positive predictors of compliance; being part of a semistate/utility company, local authority or education institution has the opposite effect. Possibilities to increase compliance and bring about a more SME-friendly tendering system are discussed.

Barriers to small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) participation in public procurement have been the focus of research for many years. Much less attention has been paid to the predictors of SME success. This article examines the role that tendering capabilities -relational and procedural -play in explaining SME activity and performance in public contract competitions. Analysis of primary survey data from 3010 SMEs supports a capability-based perspective. Procedural capability has a significant effect on number of tenders submitted and value of contract sought. Relational capability does not. However, procedural and relational capabilities have a significant and positive effect on contract win-ratio and percentage of total revenue derived from public contracts. For SMEs, these findings underline the importance of investing in tendering skills and devising buyer engagement strategies. Enterprise support agencies and public sector organisations can play their part through the provision of targeted training programmes and better communication with SME suppliers, respectively.

SME-friendly policies are central to public procurement. The extent to which these policies have been put into practice has gone largely untested, particularly from a SME perspective. To address this gap a survey of SMEs' reported experiences of policy implementation was conducted. Ireland served as the research context. The findings indicate that policy implementation has been limited. Firm size is found to be a significant predictor of SMEs' experiences, with microenterprises more negative than small or medium-sized enterprises. Reasons for the observed policy-practice divide as well as recommendations for its improvement are discussed.

Abstract. This paper develops and tests a model for explaining small and medium-size enterprise (SME) participation and success in public procurement. The model is informed by a capability-based view of public sector tendering that includes relational and procedural dimensions. To test the model a survey was carried out on firms competing for contracts with Irish public sector organizations (n = 3010). The survey was repeated one year later to demonstrate reliability (n = 3092). Overall, the results lend support to the model. Procedural capability is associated with frequency of tendering and typical value of contract sought. Relational capability is not. Procedural and relational capabilities are each significant in accounting for success rates in contract competitions and commercial orientation towards the public sector. Practitioner implications as well as directions for future research are discussed within.