Today most public sector purchasing processes are in transition. In the face of growing uneasiness by elected officials, service delivery managers, and citizens about rule-driven processes, inefficient systems, and poor management of resources, purchasing professionals are being challenged to develop new dynamic, adaptable structures. In this article, the current state of decentralization is examined and the roles of purchasing professionals in the purchasing process are presented. Specifically, this research attempts to answer the following questions: What changes have governments implemented in policy making, organization structure, personnel recruitment and training, expenditure authorization levels, review and oversight as they decentralize purchasing authority? And, what are the projected trends that will impact the success or failure of the decentralization issues over the next decade? Administration, Florida Atlantic University. His teaching and research interests are in public budgeting, accounting, financial management and government procurement.

This research focuses on a comparison of public and private sector supply organizations in terms of organizational structure, supply chain responsibilities, the chief purchasing officer (CPO) and reporting line, teaming and involvement in major organizational activities. A unique opportunity to identify similarities and differences was presented in 2000 when the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing Research (NIGP) and Florida Atlantic University replicated in the public sector a study that the Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies (CAPS) conducted in the private sector in 1995. Significant differences and similarities are identified and are discussed in this paper.

In general, there are many disincentives standing in the way of promoting change in public procurement practices by government agencies. Because engaging in sustainable purchasing requires some level of entrepreneurialism and risk-taking, a sorting framework is adopted to gauge whether some organizations are systematically more likely to pursue sustainable public purchasing (SPP) efforts than others. One-way analysis of variance and other methods are applied to a survey of public procurement practitioners across over 300 governments in the U.S. Results strongly suggest that agencies of various scope and reach tend to abstain from aggressively pursuing SPP efforts. However, when they do employ SPP, these efforts tend to be quite variable across and within levels of government and organizational size. In an effort to bridge theory with empirical data, a strong case can be made that the current state of SPP in the United States is the result of random and very cautious experimentation with little systematic pattern to SPP adoption.

The public sector purchasing function continues to face growing pressures to reform current purchasing processes. Yet, little is known about the abilities of purchasing professionals to adapt to this rapidly changing environment. This article identifies the critical job duties and work responsibilities of government purchasing buyers and officers in an attempt to determine if they currently posses the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully adapt to increased pressures for reform. Administration, Florida Atlantic University. His teaching and research interests are in public budgeting, public procurement, and governmental accounting.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to use a case‐based approach to develop an improved understanding of the conditions under which municipal purchasing departments can be meaningfully involved in acquisition processes for consulting services.Design/methodology/approachData were collected at five Canadian municipalities and involved a detailed examination of ten cases where the supply function demonstrated meaningful involvement in the acquisition process.FindingsFindings, along with organizational behavior literature on trust, were used to develop a conceptual model and tentative measurement scales that may be used to test the validity of the theory developed.Originality/valueThis work addresses the problem of low public sector purchasing department involvement in these important purchase decisions and some significant gaps in the public procurement literature.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has placed remarkable stress on all aspects of society, from health care and the economy to the psychological well-being of communities. While the crisis is still playing out in the United States and around the world, it is nevertheless appropriate to begin to assess its impact. This paper asks: What documentable public failures provide a deeper understanding of the U.S. government COVID-19 responses’ impact on supply chains? Case examples show that markets were adversely affected in ways that caused avoidable shortages of critical goods and supplies. Moreover, public procurement effectiveness was likely reduced by short-run efforts to obtain political advantage. The article begins with a brief review of disaster procurement, highlighting how public procurement professionals tried to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next section delineates three politically led phenomena that adversely impacted procurement’s ability to acquire the needed goods and services, including a lack of cohesive strategy in acquiring essential personal protective equipment; preference for unproven drugs and magical thinking; and cozy relationships between the public and private sectors. The article concludes by discussing the centrality of public sector procurement professionals as a critical link for effective provision of government services, especially in times of crisis.

At all levels of government, inconsistencies exist regarding the terminology and the body of knowledge used to understand public procurement. Perspectives on what public procurement is, or should be, ranges from routine ordering to sophisticated analysis of government spending. Definitional ambiguities have hampered attempts to define the field and unify its focus. This exploratory article examines the implications of the muddled nature of public procurement that has led to debate and uncertainty about the proper role of public procurement practitioners. To address these limitations, three dimensions of all public procurement systems are identified, and a general definition is proposed for describing the field and its institutionalized practices.