An institutional approach to research on public procurement of innovation

The role of public procurement as a means to stimulate innovation has been increasingly emphasized during the last few years. The general argument is that, by applying intelligent demand, public agencies can stimulate private sector innovation that will eventually sustain competitive advantage in a global economy. The emphasis on public procurement used as an innovation policy instrument challenges current institutional practices and skills. The article is based on the assumption that the innovation research community could inform this policy discourse, in particular by drawing on institutional theory, but in order to fully utilize this potential, further revision of the research perspectives seen is needed. The article therefore discusses an institutional approach based on three modes: “multilevel institutional analysis”, “endogenous and exogenous institutions” and “institutions as rationalities”, arguing that such an approach would help to increase innovation research quality and policy relevance.     

Public procurement of innovation: empirical evidence from EU public authorities on barriers for the promotion of innovation

Public procurement is seen as a powerful instrument for innovation policy, but meaningful barriers seem to hinder its deployment. This study reviews literature on complexity, time consumption, and risk representing important hindrances for the procurement of innovation from public buyers' perspective. Findings provide evidence on the existence of hindrances for public procurement of innovation across European Union member states through the analysis of data from a large-scale survey. Further, differences in terms of the perception of barriers become evident depending on the availability of monitoring systems for innovation performance.     

Public procurement of innovation and local authority procurement: procurement modes and framework conditions in three European cities

Local authorities present complex implementation settings for public procurement of innovation (PPI) practices and include a range of barriers, yet their proximity to citizens and local economic actors suggests that they are likely to encounter unmet needs in advance of national governments, creating potential to act as lead users. This paper develops a conceptualisation of the local authority procurement environment, using it as a framework for analysing the potential for PPI in three city authorities across Europe, representing three distinct modes of public procurement: functional procurement, tactical procurement and strategic procurement. The paper proposes that local authorities are broadly characterised by cyclical, geographically bounded procurement activity, which contains potential for stimulating incremental innovation through normal procurement activity if the external institutional setting is permissive. The paper suggests conditions for increasing the possibilities for more disruptive innovation through local authority procurement and areas for further research.     

Unveiling the public procurement market in Brazil: A methodological tool to measure its size and potential

Public procurement plays a key role both in the proper functioning of public administration and in the realization of broader policy objectives. This article aims to present a methodology to assess the Brazilian public procurement market based on government statistics, as well as reflect on the potential of public procurement policy for the development of the country. The article found that public procurement comprised an average of 13.8% of Brazil's gross domestic product during 2006−2012. The Brazilian public procurement market is comparable to that of a typical Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) country. These findings imply great potential for public procurement in Brazil as a policy instrument for promoting the country's development.     

Development-based public procurement policies: a selective survey of literature,cross-country policy experience and the Turkish experience

Technological gap (Posner, 1961) is a critical determinant of income gap between developing and developed nations. Public authorities in developing countries are preoccupied with developing and implementing policies to increase per capita income. Public procurement of machinery and other manufactured products can be utilized by public authorities to foster technological development with a view to close the technology and income gap with richer nations. Such “development-based public procurement” (DBPP) policies are considered by developed economies as well (Yülek and Tiryakio?lu 2013 Yülek, M., and M. Tiryakio?lu. 2013. “Kalk?nma Temelli Kamu Al?m? Politikalar?: Politika Deneyimleri ve Literatürden Seçilmi? Örnekler.” Third Turkish Industrial Council Conference, 20–22 November 2013, Congresium, Ankara-Turkey. [Google Scholar]; Taylor and Yülek 2014 Taylor, T., and M. Yülek. 2014. “Can Governments Leverage Procurement to Foster Development? Evidence and Projections from Public Sector Expenditures in Turkey.” Journal of International Finance Studies 14(1): 69–87. [Google Scholar]) to further their technological development. This article presents a selective literature survey of academic research and policy experience on public procurement policies utilized to foster technological development and examine a country case study on Turkey.     

Global value chains for medical gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic: Confronting forced labour through public procurement and crisis

This paper evaluates ways in which labour issues in global value chains for medical gloves have been affected by, and addressed through, the COVID-19 pandemic. It focuses on production in Malaysia and supply to the United Kingdom's National Health Service and draws on a large-scale survey with workers and interviews with UK government officials, suppliers and buyers. Adopting a Global Value Chain (GVC) framework, the paper shows how forced labour endemic in the sector was exacerbated during the pandemic in the context of increased demand for gloves. Attempts at remediation are shown to operate through both a reconfigured value chain in which power shifted dramatically to the manufacturers and a context where public procurement became higher in profile than ever before. It is argued that the purchasing power of governments must be leveraged in ways that more meaningfully address labour issues, and that this must be part of value chain resilience.