8 janvier 2019 – Sandro Cabral d’Insper (UFBA)

The dual effects of capabilities on public procurement performance:
a quasi-experimental approach

by Sandro Cabral d’Insper (UFBA)

Date
Mardi 8 janvier 2019
18h à 19h15

Lieu
IAE de Paris, Salle D1

Short bio : Sandro Cabral d’Insper is Associate Professor of Strategy and MPP Program Director at Insper. He is also an Associate Professor (on leave) at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil.

ABSTRACT

Public procurement is a key function in the public administration realm. Despite the prominent role of public procurement on government accounts and on government responsiveness, there is a dearth of knowledge on the effects of capabilities present in buyers and suppliers on public procurement performance.    By examining a quasi-experiment involving the introduction of a new legislation designed to improve public procurement standards, , we found that capabilities present in buyer and suppliers affect public procurement performance in opposite ways. While enhanced capabilities on buyer (government) and suppliers (private firms) can lead to price-savings, the presence of superior abilities on the buyer side increases contracting lead-times. The combination of capabilities and organizational change theories is useful to explain these dual and counterintuitive effects and to inform the evolving literature focused on the relationship between capabilities and public procurement performance.