To meet the challenges created by the increasingly complex and fragmented state of today ’s construction industry, project actors need to adapt their way of working. The techniques of adapting to the changing industry are numerous and it can often be difficult to identify the appropriate method. More complex projects with many actors involve a lot of risk and partnering can be one way of managing such risks. According to literature, partnering reduces adversarial relations between project stakeholders, it increases collaboration, it spreads the risk between stakeholders and it encourages them to align their goals. With that said, the implementation of partnering has faced some difficulties. The reasons for these difficulties can be various, some of the explanations might be unclear definitions of the concept partnering, non-matching expectations and a reluctance of adapting to new ways of working. Recent studies have revealed that clients are not as satisfied with the outcome of partnering projects as might be expected. Because of this, the authors felt that a deeper knowledge about the effects of partnering was needed. In order for the partnering concept to mature and the industry to understand its implications, more research on specific partnering cases is needed. The research discovered three categories of practical implications for partnering. These categories contain cultural, collaborative and contractual aspects that cover both positive and negative effects in the projects. The cultural aspects that are affected by partnering are e.g. the division of responsibility and the atmosphere. The collaborative aspects that are affected are e.g. communication, involvement of stakeholders, transparency and problem solving. The contractual aspects that are affected are e.g. flexibility and risk management. The improved joint problem solving and innovation was perceived as beneficial for time, cost and quality while other factors such as work environment and environmental impact was believed to be less affected. In order to improve the project result with the help of partnering the researchers´ recommend to embrace the openness, encourage new work habits, remove predefined views, make use of the improved joint problem solving, develop a contractual framework for partnering and create incentives and bonuses that are S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely).

During the nineties, a lot of criticism was aimed at the construction industry. Partnering emerged as a way to tackle the problems. The principle of partnering is that the parties agree to jointly achieve common project goals by mutual trust and understanding of each other's values and expectations. Although partnering has existed for nearly three decades, the meaning of the concept is still illusive and what advantages it entails. However, the concept is nevertheless used by the industry. The paper aims to improve the understanding of the motives for implementing partnering by examining why partnering is implemented by HSB Bostad AB and what motives exists for its usage. Empirical data was collected by using a case study of HSB Bostad AB, and analyzed on the basis of economic theories and models. The results show that partnering primarily is used in projects which are; complex, have big scope and where there is limited competition among contractors. Partnering is also used as; a risk-balancer in the project portfolio (because HSB Bostad’s risk exposure varies in different contract forms), an educational medium and a platform for a more enjoyable work-environment. / Under nittiotalet riktades skarp kritik mot byggbranschen. Samverkan kom fram som ett sätt att angripa problematiken. Principen med samverkan är att parterna förbinder sig till att tillsammans uppnå gemensamma projektmål genom en ömsesidig tillit och en förståelse för varandras värderingar och förväntningar. Trots att samverkan funnits i snart tre decennier är det fortfarande inte klarlagt vad samverkan som koncept innebär och vilka konceptets fördelar är. Men konceptet tillämpas trots detta fortfarande av aktörerna på marknaden. Arbetet syftar till att öka förståelsen för motiven till att samverkan tillämpas genom att undersöka varför samverkan används av HSB Bostad AB. Empiriskt material samlades in med hjälp av en fallstudie av HSB Bostad AB, som analyserats utifrån ekonomiska teorier och modeller. Resultatet visar att samverkan framförallt fyller en plats i komplexa projekt med stor omfattning och där konkurrensen mellan entreprenörer är begränsad. Samverkan fungerar även som en riskbalanserare i projektportföljen (på grund av att HSB Bostads risktagande varierar mellan olika kontraktsformer), ett utbildningsmedium och en plattform för roligare arbetsklimat.

The aim of this thesis attempts to analyse two concepts connected with public procurement overpricing, competition effect and non-transparent effect. Dataset consists of 326 public procurement contracts. Existence of competition effect is proved, thus increase of competitors in selection procedure causes that final price decreases. Open types of selection procedures are also cheaper for public authorities. Analysis of non-transparent effect lies in possibility to find beneficial owner of each winner of selection procedure from public sources. Results show that companies with clear and visible owners realize public contracts cheaper than their non-transparent competitors. Findings are also discussed in public policy approach.

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Includes bibliographical references / The development of subjecting government procurement awards to judicial review is a relatively recent development in South African law. It accords with a similar development in the United States, as well as South Africa's own constitutional requirements of transparency and public accountability. Given the often lucrative nature of public contracts, challenges to the lawfulness of government procurement awards have become a regular occurrence in South Africa. However, the setting aside of such an award does not automatically follow upon a finding of unlawfulness. For a number of reasons, a court may decline to set aside an unlawful government procurement award. This raises a number of interesting questions, particularly with regard to how such a decision may be reconciled with, and the implications this may have for, the principle of legality and the Rule of Law. This dissertation will address these issues, arguing that, ultimately, the concerns are resolved by appreciating the nature of the principle of legality, and the Rule of Law's place as a value in society.

The manual procurement processes used by some private companies result in increased costs and contract fulfillment delays. The focus of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies procurement managers use to reduce costs and contract fulfillment delays. The population for this study was three procurement managers of private plastics companies located at Maitama, in Abuja, Nigeria. Weiss's theory of change was the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews and an exploration of company archival financial documents. Data were transcribed, coded, and then validated through member checking, resulting in the emergence of 5 themes: change implementation strategies, strategies for reducing cost and contract fulfillment delays, change implementation barriers, employee-focused factors, and strategies for responding to the changing external environmental factors. The 2 most important themes identified from the study were change implementation strategies and strategies for reducing cost and contract fulfillment delays. These strategies could help organizational leaders who desire improved procurement process change to define long-term goals and then map backward to identify preconditions to achieve the preferred change. The implications for positive social change include increased sustainability for companies and the consequent potential to increase employment among youth, improve standards of living of the workforce, and reduce social vices in Abuja, Nigeria.

The dominance of federal and state contracts by large enterprises reduces the share of contracts small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) business leaders obtain. As of the last census reading in 2016, SMEs received only 23% of contracts. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies of 3 small business leaders, operating in south Florida, for obtaining state contracts through public procurement. The thematic findings were in the context of the principal-agent theory as the conceptual framework. The participants answered 10 questions in semistructured interviews and provided organizational procurement documents for review. The methodological triangulation of multiple data sources and data analysis led to the identification of 3 primary themes: business performance, overcoming barriers, and strategic initiatives. Enabling proper business performance protocols for revenue, company reputation, pricing, and compliance benefitted the 3 participants as a strategy for successfully winning state contracts. The participants first identified the barriers they experienced, which included access, bargaining power, funding, and labels. The barriers encountered by the participants became less overwhelming with the implementation of strategic initiatives based on knowledge, relationship building, skilled personnel, and taking action. Findings included the importance of SME business leaders and personnel educating themselves on the public procurement process and building relationships with individuals in the various agencies. Application of the findings may lead to a social change of higher small business employment rates, increased revenue, and improved innovation for business leaders.

This qualitative case study was used to examine the Request for Proposal (RFP) evaluation process used by airports for selecting concessions business operators, including retail and duty-free gift shops, restaurants, newsstands, and public parking. The case consisted of 42 purposefully selected RFPs from 35 airports representing 92% of all U.S. commercial airline passenger traffic compared against guidelines found in Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 54. A problem occurs when evaluation outcomes are challenged because of perceptions of bias, and formal protests and legal claims create delays that disproportionately affect small and minority-owned businesses. The purpose of this study was to compare RFP documents for congruence and influences of concessionaire evaluation ratings. Qualitative data analysis, qualitative content analysis, and interpretive coding were used to explain socioeconomic factors inferred from the documents. Gaps existed in available literature for the effect of airport size, governance type, and evaluator motivation on the RFP process. Study findings showed weighted evaluation criteria inconsistencies with the guidelines, evidence of innate governance system influences, government-operated airport RFP preference of revenue generation measures and socioeconomic attachments, independent authority operated preferences for command and control measures, and potential for the use of standardized core evaluation criteria. By challenging the premise of a bias-free government procurement process, positive social change was achievable through this study's reinforcement of federally qualified small and minority business expansion initiatives promoting open participation and fair competition in concessions opportunities at U.S. commercial passenger airports.

A survey of 25 industrial manufacturing organizations in the U. S. indicated that 70% of respondents experienced dissatisfaction with their outsourcing programs due to unfulfilled expectations, which caused negative continuance intentions. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore the experiences of customers who currently use 3PMRO outsourcing programs to determine what factors affect satisfaction levels in the Southern United States. The conceptual framework for this study was the expectancy disconfirmation paradigm, which connects consumer satisfaction level to the fulfillment of consumer expectations. Data were collected from interviews of 22 procurement professionals of maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; observations of 3PMRO supplier performance meetings; and the analysis of performance scorecard documents. Data were analyzed using pattern matching followed by thematic analysis. Three themes were identified through the data analysis that affected consumer satisfaction: inventory management services, utilization of outsourced labor resources, and total cost value of the 3PMRO program. According to results, satisfaction of 3PMRO consumers are based on the proper utilization of a 3PMRO program for the intended limitations of the organization, reduced MRO supply costs, improved inventory management strategies, and improved competitive advantage from the realignment of resources to focus on core competencies. Implications for positive social change include increased awareness of cradle-to-grave inventory management to prevent improper disposal of non-biodegradable materials into our environment.

In this study the researcher attempts to advance the understanding of the structure of firm buying centers for air travel services. First, an attempt is made to find empirical support for the proposition that firm air travel service buying centers can be grouped on the basis of their size, degree of complexity, centralization, and formalization. The study investigates the relationship of size, structure, and technology of the organization as a whole to the structure of the buying center. Diagraphs, or pictures representing the members of the buying centers, and the communication flows between those members, allow the researcher to record three constructs of buying center complexity: lateral involvement, vertical involvement, and connectedness. The size of the buying center is defined as the number of people within the organization who participated in the buying process from the reservations phase to the final payment of the supplier. The degree of centralization is determined by the number of communications between the travel manager and other buying center members. Formalization of the buying center was operationalized as the percent of written versus verbal communication in the buying process, the extent to which the process was governed by rules and policies, and the degree of compliance with policy. Significantly different mean values were found in buying center size and the degree of written versus verbal communication across the three cluster analysis-derived groups. None of the other buying center variables were found to differentiate the groups. Of all the organizational variables, only firm size, as measured by the absolute value of air travel purchases per year, was found to be a better-than-chance predictor of group membership. Additional research on participation during the contract negotiation phase is suggested. It is further proposed that future researchers wishing to study corporate travel in an industrial marketing context begin to study influence on, in addition to participation in, the buying process. It is further suggested that these issues should be investigated in the context of global as well as domestic organizations and evaluated on a longitudinal basis. / Ph. D.