Public procurement and EU tendering directives – explaining non‐compliance

Abstract

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to make a contribution to categorising explanations of non-compliance of EU tendering directives and to report on a survey study to the impact of these reasons on compliance with the directives. Design/methodology/approach-A literature review resulted in a conceptual model and related hypotheses, pointing at four potential reasons for (non-)compliance: the purchaser's familiarity with the rules, the perceived inefficiency, organisational incentives to comply, and the expected resistance and readiness of suppliers to take action in case of non-compliance. The paper uses data from a survey among 147 responding purchasing professionals of the Dutch Ministry of Defence. Findings-The empirical findings indicate that both purchaser's familiarity with the rules and organisational incentives have a positive, statistically significant impact on compliance. Nor the alleged inefficiency of the directives, nor the expected supplier resistance seem to influence the compliance with the directives. Research limitations/implications-The study is limited in its setting: measuring perceptions of purchasing professionals within the Dutch Ministry of Defence. Future research could combine perceptual data and objective, measurable data on compliance. Future research might include other samples from other public agencies, questioning other respondents than purchasers, measuring factors from other fields and disciplines such as criminology (risk of detection and sanction risks), economy (costs and benefits), public choice theory (legitimacy), sociology (peer pressure), and social psychology (personal values). Practical implications-A managerial implication of the findings of this study would be that educating and training public purchasers will be an effective tool for increasing the compliance with the directives. In addition, public agencies could try to establish incentives in order to stimulate compliance. Originality/value-Although many studies have reported on the (limited) effectiveness of the EU tendering directives, little work has been undertaken on the compliance as such, while no empirical studies have been carried out to explain the (lack of) compliance with EU directives. This paper reports on a quantitative study, explaining the (non-) compliance with the directives. The study could be of value to public policy makers, to public agencies, and to researchers in the academic world.

Institutional Legal Environment and Public Procurement Performnce in Tertiary Institutions in West Nile Sub Region of Uganda

“…De Boer and Telgen (1998) assert that during the early days of the inception of public procurement regulations in The Netherlands, many municipalities could not comply with the regulations because they were not familiar with them. Gelderman et al (2006) confirmed this position in a survey on compliance with EU procurement directives. This study was to confirm whether the reason for non-compliance was the same with that found out in Netherlands, which was nonfamiliarity with the laws and regulations, or otherwise.…”

“…According to De Boer and Telgen (1998), as quoted by Gelderman et al (2006), one of the factors that cause non-compliance with procurement regulations is the level of familiarity with the regulations. De Boer and Telgen (1998) assert that during the early days of the inception of public procurement regulations in The Netherlands, many municipalities could not comply with the regulations because they were not familiar with them.…”

“…30 Billion (US Dollars 184) is lost every year due to non-compliance. De Boer and Telgen (1998), as cited by Gelderman et al (2006), explain that compliance is a problem not only in the third world countries but also evident in the countries in the European Union. Gelderman et al (2006) further advance reasons for non-compliance as explained by the tendency to avoid red tape involved in the procurement process.…”

Exclude Me Not: The Untold Story of Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Sweden

“…However, despite the fact that the importance of supplier diversity is widely acknowledged in the context of public procurement [25][26][27], and given the importance of different contexts and actors as influencers of supplier diversity practices, the understanding of such actors (e.g., the procurers and suppliers) of supplier diversity is not clear enough and supplier diversity still suffers from problems in implementation. Incidentally, understanding barriers or factors that hinder and challenge the implementation of CSR in an organization plays a major role in achieving sustainable development goals [28].…”

Effect of Regulatory Compliance on the relationship between Public Procurement of Innovation and Supply Chain Performance

“…Cumulatively this leads to the undermining of other regulations and the regulation itself, which can lead to a vicious cycle in which more and more rules are promulgated while public confidence in government regulation lessens and compliance outcomes become worse (Gelderman, Ghijsen, & Brugman, 2006). Public procurement is a regulated process and its ultimate agenda is to ensure that value for money is achieved.…”