A comparison of prevalence of unethical tendering practices at national and subnational levels in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria has recently renewed efforts towards stamping out corruption in every area of its national life. Given that construction procurement is particularly prone to corrupt practices, this study investigated the prevalence of unethical tendering practices in the Nigerian public sector. In particular, a comparison to bare the similarities or differences in the prevalence of unethical tendering practices at national and subnational levels is scarcely available in literature. This study’s objective was to determine and compare the prevalence of unethical tendering practices at the national and subnational levels in Nigeria. The data analysis was based on 120 acceptably filled questionnaires obtained from contractor, client and consultant organisations previously involved in public sector projects. The unethical tendering practices were analysed using prevalence indices and Mann–Whitney U tests. Findings include that the three most prevalent unethical tendering practices are contractor-based, namely: (1) competitors offer bribes to gain access to confidential tendering information (C1); (2) competitors overstate their capacity, experience and qualifications to secure construction contracts (C2); (3) the same owner(s) use different firms to tender for the same project (C3), in descending order of prevalence. No significant difference exists between unethical tendering practices in federal and state government projects. The findings of the study will help the Nigerian government and other stakeholders to better understand unethical practices at the tender stage of construction procurement in the public sector and to evolve better strategies for dealing with them. The study contributes to existing knowledge by separately identifying the prevalent unethical tendering practices in the Nigerian context and comparing unethical tendering practices at national and subnational levels within a country

Ethical misconducts within the invitation to tender and tender evaluation and award stages of construction contracts in Ghana

“…Literature reports on the presence of ethical misconducts across the various phases and stages of construction contracts or projects (Mukumbawa and Muya, 2013; Sohail and Cavill, 2006). However, other studies have categorically stated that the presence of ethical misconducts is very prevalent during the tendering stage of construction contacts as compared to all other stages (Ogbu and Asuquo, 2018; Ameyaw et al , 2017; Shan et al , 2016; Wells, 2013; Adnan et al , 2012; Azher et al , 2011; Abdul-Rahman et al , 2010; Bowen et al , 2007; Shakantu, 2006; Vee and Skitmore, 2003). Ogbu and Asuquo (2018) revealed that in Nigeria, the three most prevalent unethical tendering practices are contractor-based and include: the offering of bribes by competitors to gain access to confidential tendering information; overstating of capacity, experience and qualifications by competitors to secure construction contracts and using different firms to tender for the same project by the same owner(s).…”

“…According to Harris and McCaffer (2013), negotiation is only a means of communication between the client and the contractor and the exchange of data and documents to conclude clients’ decisions. Despite the numerous advantages associated with tendering (Morote and Vila, 2012; Huang, 2011; Plebankiewiez, 2009; Ogunsemi and Aje, 2006; Olatunji, 2006; Nwachukwu, 2006), it is still plagued with series of unethical practices (Ogbu and Asuquo, 2018; Shan et al , 2016; Wells, 2013; Adnan et al , 2012; Azher et al , 2011; Abdul-Rahman et al , 2010; Bowen et al , 2007; Shakantu, 2006; Vee and Skitmore, 2003).…”

“…Previous studies have found unethical practices in construction procurement to be higher at the tender and bid evaluation stages (Ogbu and Asuquo, 2018; Al-sweity, 2013; Adnan et al , 2012). It is, therefore, not surprising that researchers worldwide have pointed out serious cases of unethical practices within this stage of construction projects.…”

“…With this well-known way(s) of appropriately selecting contractors, the industry is still plagued with the presence of unethical behaviours across all the various phases of construction projects (Mukumbawa and Muya, 2013). Unethical practices in the construction industry are a global phenomenon (Ogbu and Asuquo, 2018).…”

“…While it is a known fact that unethical practices are prevalent in the Ghanaian construction industry (Manu et al , 2019; Ameyaw et al , 2017), studies directly focusing on the prevalence of unethical misconducts at the invitation to tender and tender evaluation and award stages are difficult to come by. With a huge amount of money usually associated with construction projects, attempts to unfairly influence the outcome of tendering can have dire consequences on construction costs (Ogbu and Asuquo, 2018). Al-sweity (2013) further indicated that through unethical practices, financial resources allocated for infrastructure development are often frittered away, leading to increased construction costs that result from inefficiency.…”