SMEs and government purchasing in Northern Ireland: problems and opportunities
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to examine the support mechanisms that exist for small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Northern Ireland and how access to government contracts can be improved for SMEs. The paper will investigate the rationale for SME involvement in public procurement, as well as drawing upon a series of interviews carried out with government suppliers in Northern Ireland. This paper concludes that even though there are support mechanisms for SMEs at both a UK and at a European level, government tendering procedures need to be simplified to ensure easier access to contracts for SMEs.
Keywords
Citation
Fee, R., Erridge, A. and Hennigan, S. (2002), "SMEs and government purchasing in Northern Ireland: problems and opportunities", European Business Review, Vol. 14 No. 5, pp. 326-334. https://doi.org/10.1108/09555340210444176
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited