It is well established that one of the key contributing factors to the growth of countries’ economies is the existence of appropriate economic and social infrastructures. The setup of these infrastructures and their operation or delivery of public services associated with them have proved to be a costly and often unaffordable business for most governments. Therefore, private sector participation in the delivery of public services has been opted for by governments under Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). Additional reasons for the public sector to choose a PPP framework to deliver public services include the public sector representatives’ lack of sufficient technical knowledge and specifications required by most projects; the required amount of investment to implement such projects is too high to be affordable by the public sector alone; the increasing difficulties of predicting and controlling the uncertainties that typically govern the phases of such projects including the level of actual demand for the related services by the time the project is operational; the level of bureaucracy in the public sector and its implications on the time frame of decision-making processes; the relatively low efficiency in project execution by the public sector; and most importantly the fact that, in practice, these difficulties are often better managed by the private sector who seem to possess both the financial and the executive capabilities to undertake such projects Currently, there is a gap in the game theory literature on modelling PPP related decisions and issues. This thesis contributes to reducing such gap by proposing three novel and practice-oriented game theoretical models along with algorithms for solving them, namely an ordinal game for the shortlisting of potential private sector partners; two non-cooperative dynamic games for negotiation with shortlisted private sector partners and selection of private sector partner to award the PPP contract to; and a non-cooperative dynamic game for financial renegotiation post-PPP contract award. In sum, each novel game addresses an important problem faced by the private sector during the typical stages of the life cycle of PPPs, namely private sector partner selection at the tendering stage; negotiation between the public sector and shortlisted bidders to select the candidate to whom to award a PPP contract to at the post-tendering stage; and financial re-negotiation between the public sector and the selected private sector partner at the post-contract award stage.

Public services in Taiwan have experienced redundancies, cost cutting, closure of operations, and challenges to the quality of their services to diverse populations. Among the tasks of electronic government, electronic commerce, a mechanism of buying and selling goods and services, and transferring funds through digital communications, is the most visible trend of the information technology related changes over the last few years. Accordingly, the electronic government procurement system, an internet-based service for electronic government purchasing and information sharing, has been developed and provided to the public since 2000. Ideally, with the help of Electronic Tendering System, a subsystem of the electronic government procurement systems, tremendous paper work will no longer be necessary for companies doing business with government, and the administrative efficiency will be improved significantly. In addition, under the design of online biding procedure, the chance of procurement fraud may be limited as well. The purposes of this paper are as follows: 1. Discuss the ongoing promoting programs of electronic government procurement internationally. 2. Analyze the key factors of the establishment and implementation of the Electronic Tendering System locally. 3. Propose strategies for the implementation of the electronic government procurement system. In this paper, we discuss the essence of electronic commerce and introduce the international opportune movement for government departments to reinvent their organizations by implementing electronic procurement systems. In particular, we examine the antecedents of the technology usage in the context of an integrated model. Answering what the key factors of the successful information systems are is crucial to the development an effective electronic government procurement system program.

Environmental awareness among public authorities and governmental institutions has been a priority initiative for countries in the EU over the last years. The public sector is a major consumer of products and services, while their environmental policies are also at a top. Many EU Member Countries have already implemented EU legislation for greener purchasing in the public sector, while others are now preparing their National Action Plan. However, conscious acceptance of National Policy objectives and adoption of green environmental behavior in all scales of the public sector is a challenge. Researchers are concerned that public authorities and especially those of a small size are still focused on the lowest price as a leading factor in public tenders. Many studies have shown that lack of knowledge is a key determinant for the scarce environmental requirements in public procurements. Under this framework, this thesis explores the determinants that affect the implementation of environmental requirements in public procurements and consequently the environmental awareness of small sized public organizations. This thesis is based on a review of policy documents and a single case study investigation. The single case study was conducted on the Technical Department of a municipality in North Greece and the data sources were engineering projects’ public procurements and interviews from the local authority’s officers.

This study focuses on developing and implementing a web-based public procurement system. As one innovative way of enhancing public procurement, an attempt to develop and implement electronic tendering system is to be made. In designing the system, not only technological aspects but also issues related to public procurement process improvement are considered. As an analysis and design approach, object oriented methodology was chosen and UML was used. Java as a development language was preferred because the resulting system is expected to be portable. This study also puts forward propositions as to how the government should perform direct purchases to ensure that both public and private sector benefit from e-Procurement to achieve full value.

To achieve its goals, the State requires the voluntary collaboration of individuals, which takes form of an administrative contract, whose award is often disrupted by administrative corruption. Public tendering stands out among the mechanisms to prevent and fight administrative corruption in the award of administrative contracts. / Para alcanzar sus fines, el Estado requiere de la colaboración voluntaria de los particulares, lo cual se concreta mediante el contrato administrativo, cuya adjudicación suele verse trastocadas por el flagelo de la corrupción. Entre los mecanismos utilizables para evitar y combatir la corrupción administrativa en la adjudicación de los contratos administrativos, destaca la licitación pública.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar os processos licitatórios para a concessão do transporte coletivo municipal por ônibus, ocorridos na cidade de Porto Alegre, durante o ano de 2014, visando identificar o porquê de ambos processos terem restado desertos. Para tanto, buscou-se, ao longo desse estudo de caso, subsídios que justificassem o desinteresse, por parte da iniciativa privada, em prover estes serviços. Através de pesquisa a literatura e da análise de casos de Londres (UK), França e Japão, buscou-se reunir tais subsídios. A conclusão que se obteve é de que as grandes barreiras de entrada; o grande tempo de contrato a ser firmado; o risco de receita ao operador privado, em um contexto em que o poder público determina as especificações dos serviços a serem prestados; a ausência de informações completas sobre os serviços a serem prestados; as indefinições sobre a integração tarifária do sistema metropolitano, e sobre a implantação do metrô e do BRT; podem estar entre as justificativas do desinteresse da iniciativa privada em concorrer nos certames ofertados pelo Poder Público. / This study aims to analyze the bidding process for the granting of the municipal public transport by bus, occurred in the city of Porto Alegre during the year 2014 to identify why both processes have no bidders. Therefore, we sought, throughout this case study, subsidies to justify the lack of interest on the part of the private sector in providing these services. Through research the literature and analysis of cases of London (UK), France and Japan, we sought to gather such subsidies. The conclusion obtained is that large entry barriers; the big time contract to be signed; the risk of revenue to the private operator, in a context in which the government determines the specifications of the services to be provided; the absence of complete information on the services to be provided; the uncertainties on tariff integration of the metropolitan system, and for the implementation of the metro and BRT; may be among the reasons of the private sector unwillingness to compete in contests offered by the Government.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar os processos licitatórios para a concessão do transporte coletivo municipal por ônibus, ocorridos na cidade de Porto Alegre, durante o ano de 2014, visando identificar o porquê de ambos processos terem restado desertos. Para tanto, buscou-se, ao longo desse estudo de caso, subsídios que justificassem o desinteresse, por parte da iniciativa privada, em prover estes serviços. Através de pesquisa a literatura e da análise de casos de Londres (UK), França e Japão, buscou-se reunir tais subsídios. A conclusão que se obteve é de que as grandes barreiras de entrada; o grande tempo de contrato a ser firmado; o risco de receita ao operador privado, em um contexto em que o poder público determina as especificações dos serviços a serem prestados; a ausência de informações completas sobre os serviços a serem prestados; as indefinições sobre a integração tarifária do sistema metropolitano, e sobre a implantação do metrô e do BRT; podem estar entre as justificativas do desinteresse da iniciativa privada em concorrer nos certames ofertados pelo Poder Público. / This study aims to analyze the bidding process for the granting of the municipal public transport by bus, occurred in the city of Porto Alegre during the year 2014 to identify why both processes have no bidders. Therefore, we sought, throughout this case study, subsidies to justify the lack of interest on the part of the private sector in providing these services. Through research the literature and analysis of cases of London (UK), France and Japan, we sought to gather such subsidies. The conclusion obtained is that large entry barriers; the big time contract to be signed; the risk of revenue to the private operator, in a context in which the government determines the specifications of the services to be provided; the absence of complete information on the services to be provided; the uncertainties on tariff integration of the metropolitan system, and for the implementation of the metro and BRT; may be among the reasons of the private sector unwillingness to compete in contests offered by the Government.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar os processos licitatórios para a concessão do transporte coletivo municipal por ônibus, ocorridos na cidade de Porto Alegre, durante o ano de 2014, visando identificar o porquê de ambos processos terem restado desertos. Para tanto, buscou-se, ao longo desse estudo de caso, subsídios que justificassem o desinteresse, por parte da iniciativa privada, em prover estes serviços. Através de pesquisa a literatura e da análise de casos de Londres (UK), França e Japão, buscou-se reunir tais subsídios. A conclusão que se obteve é de que as grandes barreiras de entrada; o grande tempo de contrato a ser firmado; o risco de receita ao operador privado, em um contexto em que o poder público determina as especificações dos serviços a serem prestados; a ausência de informações completas sobre os serviços a serem prestados; as indefinições sobre a integração tarifária do sistema metropolitano, e sobre a implantação do metrô e do BRT; podem estar entre as justificativas do desinteresse da iniciativa privada em concorrer nos certames ofertados pelo Poder Público. / This study aims to analyze the bidding process for the granting of the municipal public transport by bus, occurred in the city of Porto Alegre during the year 2014 to identify why both processes have no bidders. Therefore, we sought, throughout this case study, subsidies to justify the lack of interest on the part of the private sector in providing these services. Through research the literature and analysis of cases of London (UK), France and Japan, we sought to gather such subsidies. The conclusion obtained is that large entry barriers; the big time contract to be signed; the risk of revenue to the private operator, in a context in which the government determines the specifications of the services to be provided; the absence of complete information on the services to be provided; the uncertainties on tariff integration of the metropolitan system, and for the implementation of the metro and BRT; may be among the reasons of the private sector unwillingness to compete in contests offered by the Government.

Byggindustrin har en betydande del i ett lands ekonomiska utveckling. Underentreprenörer bidrar med upp till 90 % av ett projekts totala värde, vilket lägger stor vikt vid upphandlingen av underentreprenörer. I denna studie undersöks det hur entreprenörer på den privata marknaden uppfattar upphandlingen av underentreprenörer, vilka problem och möjligheter som kan kopplas till denna process samt hur rätt val av upphandlingsstrategier kan bidra till effektivare processer.  För att besvara syfte och frågeställningar har tio stycken intervjuer genomförts. Intervjupersonerna var inköpare, produktionsledare samt representanter från underentreprenörerna. Intervjupersonernas tankar och idéer jämfördes med den information författarna erhållit från studier av artiklar, rapporter och andra texter. Resultatet påvisar att aktörerna uppfattar att upphandlingsarbetet i dagsläget överlag fungerar bra, det finns dock utrymme för förbättringar. Tidsbrist, otydlighet samt dåliga handlingar är faktorer som ständigt tas upp som problem i arbetet.  Entreprenören bör fokusera på vad som är av vikt vid den specifika entreprenaden, samt hålla anbudsförfrågan kort, koncis och projektanpassad. Att i större utsträckning jobba med samma underentreprenörer kan bidra till förbättringar gällande tid och tydlighet, i vissa fall kan det också vara aktuellt att skriva in specifik organisation i kontrakt. Att blanda ersättningsformer kan bidra till flexiblare processer. Hur omfattande detaljnivån i handlingar ska vara är av vikt vid val av entreprenadform. Tradition, vad entreprenör och underentreprenör vanligen jobbar med, påverkar val av upphandlingsstrategi. Detta kan hämma utvecklingen och testandet av nya tekniker och idéer. / The construction industry constitutes a significant part of a country's economic development. Subcontractors contribute up to 90% of a projects total production value, which make the procurement of subcontractors vital. This study examines how private market actors perceive the procurement of subcontractors, which problems and opportunities can be linked to this process and how the right choice of procurement strategies can contribute to more efficient processes.  In order to answer the purpose and the research questions, nine interviews were conducted. The interviewees were buyers, production managers and representatives from subcontractors. The thoughts and ideas from the interviews were compared with scientific articles, reports and other texts. The result indicates that there is room for improvements in the procurement work but in overall it works well, according to the involved actors. Insufficient amount of time, ambiguity and poor documents are constantly mentioned as problems in the procurement process. The client should specify important things for the specific contract as well as keeping the bid request short, concisely and adapted to the project. Working with the sub-contractor to a greater extent could possibly contribute to improvements regarding time and clarity. In some cases it could also be appropriate to include a specific organization in the contract. By mixing different ways of how to pay for contracts the process might get more flexible. The extent of detail in the documents should affect how the contact is designed. Tradition, how the client and sub-contractor usually design their contracts, affects their future strategies of procurement. This might inhibit the use and development of new techniques and ideas.

Yes / Despite the importance of the ongoing debate on audit tendering and its possible implications for the audit profession including audit market structure, audit quality, and auditor independence, there is an apparent lack of research into this area. Using content analysis, this study reports the results of an examination of the comment letters sent to the UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in response to its consultation document on the 2012 revisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code. The results indicate a general support for the FRC’s proposals with a number of key concerns related to audit quality, audit cost and auditor independence. There is also clear conflict of interests among some groups such as audit firms and companies on one side and institutional investors on the other side. There is evidence of conflict of interest between Big 4 and non-Big 4 audit firms. The findings could influence future revisions of the Code with regard to tendering and enhance policy makers’ understanding of the position taken by each group of stakeholder.