Clarifying strategic alignment in the public procurement process

Abstract

PurposeWhile the need for strategic alignment in public management has been recognized, there is a lack of conceptual clarity to support its application in practice. Focusing on the specific field of public procurement, this paper clarifies and illustrates how the concept of strategic alignment can be applied when strategizing the public procurement process.Design/methodology/approachThe current literature on strategic alignment in public procurement is critically reviewed to identify ambiguities that hamper its application in practice. Based on this review, an analytical framework is developed that conceptualizes strategic alignment as that between the procurement instruments used in a sourcing project and the corresponding higher-level strategies. The framework is empirically illustrated by applying it in a case study that reconstructs the procurement strategy for an innovation projectFindingsStrategic alignment in the public procurement process can be demonstrated by identifying, explicating and logically linking reasoning and trade-off decisions on competing priorities across multiple levels and dimensions of strategyOriginality/valueAlthough creating alignment between policy and public procurement practice is generally held to be important in the public management literature, it is only discussed on high levels of abstraction. This paper provides clarity by investigating alignment in greater detail.

Strategic alignment dimensions and structured practices of learning organizations: A case study of Wasit university

“…The critical aspect of this procedure is the government's role. Governance is defined as the organization's ability to deliver services or goods and additional requirements to meet demand effectively and transparently [51]. Governance is an imperative dimension of strategic alignment.…”

“…A partnership is a process that establishes boundaries for information exchange and requires cooperation and trust based on sharing common business goals and defining common production strategies. It is a strategy that allows partners to make mutual decisions, achieve outstanding profitability, and minimize risks [51]. A partnership is one of the main challenges for developing managerial capacities; it is an adaptation strategy to unsettle and uncertain environmental changes.…”

(Mis)aligning politicians and admirals: The problems of long‐term procurement in the Canadian Surface Combatant project 1994‐2021

“…But when is procurement successful in this effort and when does it fail? One significant factor set out in the procurement literature, as noted above, is a lack of alignment between departmental strategic goals and the procurement instruments deployed to achieve them (Glas, Schaupp, and Essig 2017;Plantinga, Voordijk, and Dorée 2020). As Table 1 suggests, for successful procurement/implementation to occur what is needed is a clear set of objectives and targets established by the government that can then be matched to specific tools and tool calibrations by delivery departments or agencies (Almarri and Blackwell 2014;Vaidya, Sajeev, and Callender 2006).…”

alineación estratégica: revisión de literatura

“…Las investigaciones realizadas en el ámbito de la alineación estratégica, han permitido determinar que, la referida variable tiene sus raíces en la teoría de la contingencia (Chandler, 1962;Drazin & Van de Ven, 1985;Plantinga et al, 2020;Ginsberg & Venkatraman, 1985;), la cual sostiene que no hay la mejor manera de administrar una organización, y el rendimiento mejorará al crearse un ajuste entre una variable y la contingencia (Spina et al, 2016). Durante décadas, los académicos se han basado en el modelo de alineación estratégica de Henderson y Venkatraman (Henderson & Venkatraman,1993) para explicar la alineación estratégica en las organizaciones (Oehlhorn et al, 2020).…”