Government Purchases: a Review of Scientific Literature with Implications for the Legal Aspects of Public Management

Abstract

Goal: This study presents an overview of the scientific literature on the conceptual scope of government procurement with implications for the legal aspects of public management. Theoretical framework: The study framework is metatheoretical, in the sense that different conceptual definitions from all fields of scientific knowledge were studied to gain the most accurate understanding of the explanatory framework of government procurement. Method: The conceptual bibliographic method was used in its four stages to generate answers to two guiding questions and one main research question. Nominal data were collected from the Google Scholar scientific database of studies published between January 2023 and June 2024, only from articles published in qualified journals, national and international scientific events, master's dissertations, doctoral theses, technical studies, and research reports. The sample consisted of 28 studies that met the requirements after applying the exclusion rules. The results were generated using simple frequency for the approaches and the creation of semantic groups for the attributes of government purchases. Results and discussion: The results indicated the existence of ten distinct but convergent approaches to government purchases. Forty-four attributes were also found, organized into nine semantic groups. It was discovered that science shows the possibility of four major stages in carrying out government purchases: diagnosis of the population's needs, contracting, monitoring, and evaluating the population's satisfaction with what was delivered to them. Of these four stages, only the contracting stage has received substantial concern from the legislator. Research implications: This study's findings indicate the need to expand the legal coverage of government purchases to all process stages. This would prevent, for example, government purchases made in the Brazilian Amazon from considering logistics costs, a disregard that prevents legal contracting by city governments in the region. Originality/Value: This study's main contribution to science in general and law in particular is the finding that government procurement is a phenomenon that is not limited to the stages of contracting with the supplier by the public agency. For legal and governmental effectiveness, rules are necessary for diagnosing the need to be met, monitoring the supply, and assessing the population's satisfaction with what is delivered to them.