What is it about?
There is very little known about the determinants of SME participation and success in public procurement. In this paper, we argue that tendering-specific capabilities - relational and procedural - are important in addressing this knowledge gap. Our results, based on survey data from over 3000 SMEs, support to the capability-based perspective we put forward.
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Why is it important?
Representation of SMEs in public procurement has tended to focus on the barriers that prevent them from winning contracts. Real as these barriers are, it is important that we identify factors that are associated with SME success. We show that relational and procedural tendering capabilities are two such factors and, from this, make recommendations on what can be done to improve SMEs' prospects in public procurement.
Perspectives
I decided to write this paper in response to the dearth of scholarship on explanations of SME success in public procurement. The stance I take is to view tendering as a specific firm-level capability that comprises relational and procedural components. To my knowledge, this is the first time that a capability-based perspective on SME involvement in public procurement has been put forward and tested. My hope is that this paper will generate debate and future inquiry into what is a critical but largely overlooked issue.
Dr Anthony Flynn
Dublin City University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Investigating the effect of tendering capabilities on SME activity and performance in public contract competitions, International Small Business Journal Researching Entrepreneurship, February 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0266242616630035.
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