Reverse auction bidding is an online auction system. A purchaser's primary objective in
using a reverse auction is to obtain the lowest possible bid for goods and services on a
construction project. With this type of bidding, it is normal that the purchaser will only
consider price, instead of a bidders' work history and experience. As a reverse auction is
an online service, the common misperception is that a purchaser can reach a broader
market to obtain the lowest possible price. It is a controversial bidding system. No
previous research has been undertaken by the Texas A&M University Reverse Auction
Bidding study group into potential owner interference with the bidding system for a
reverse auction.
Six bidders were asked to participate in the Reverse Auction Bidding process for a series
of construction projects in Houston. Each participant was also asked to complete a
Keirsey Temperament Sorter Test type I and II to determine each participant's
personality. After the tests, the six participants competed in an online reverse auction
bidding game. The primary objective of this research is to analyze the impact of an
owner's interference in a reverse auction bidding scenario. In this test, one of the six
bidders acted as the owner's surrogate to interfere with an ethical process and reduce the
owner's costs. The other five bidders were unaware of the surrogate's role in the
bidding. The primary directive given to the surrogate bidder was to drive down the cost
of the projects. The results for the research study show that the owner's surrogate can
affect the bidding process. Interference results in reduced returns for the bidders when
compared to an uncompromised bidding scenario. It is clear that the method used is
unethical.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-12-7562 |
| Date | 2009 December 1900 |
| Creators | Chaudhari, Sushil V. |
| Contributors | Nichols, John M. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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