Clarifying strategic alignment in the public procurement process
International Journal of Public Sector Management
ISSN: 0951-3558
Article publication date: 13 October 2020
Issue publication date: 4 November 2020
Abstract
Purpose
While the need for strategic alignment in public management has been recognized, there is a lack of conceptual clarity to support its application in practice. Focusing on the specific field of public procurement, this paper clarifies and illustrates how the concept of strategic alignment can be applied when strategizing the public procurement process.
Design/methodology/approach
The current literature on strategic alignment in public procurement is critically reviewed to identify ambiguities that hamper its application in practice. Based on this review, an analytical framework is developed that conceptualizes strategic alignment as that between the procurement instruments used in a sourcing project and the corresponding higher-level strategies. The framework is empirically illustrated by applying it in a case study that reconstructs the procurement strategy for an innovation project
Findings
Strategic alignment in the public procurement process can be demonstrated by identifying, explicating and logically linking reasoning and trade-off decisions on competing priorities across multiple levels and dimensions of strategy
Originality/value
Although creating alignment between policy and public procurement practice is generally held to be important in the public management literature, it is only discussed on high levels of abstraction. This paper provides clarity by investigating alignment in greater detail.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank ProRail, the state-owned enterprise that operates, maintains and develops the railway infrastructure in the Netherlands, for enabling and financing this research. The authors also with to thank the anonymous reviewers for their useful comments.
Citation
Plantinga, H., Voordijk, H. and Dorée, A. (2020), "Clarifying strategic alignment in the public procurement process", International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 33 No. 6/7, pp. 791-807. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-10-2019-0245
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited