Wamuziri, S and Abu-Shaaban, N (2005) Potential of reverse auctions in construction procurement. In: Khosrowshahi, F (ed.) Proceedings of 21st Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-9 September 2005, London, UK.
Abstract
On-line auctions are widely used in commerce and industry to facilitate sale of goods and services. In the construction sector, use of reverse auctions is however relatively new. Reverse auctions utilise secure Internet technology to enable contractors to participate in the tendering process. This involves contractors bidding on-line against each other and progressively lowering their prices in order to win the contract. Types of auctions and how they influence bidding strategies are firstly discussed in this paper. The use of online bidding in other sectors of business is discussed. This is followed by a description of the procedure for online bidding for construction projects. The relative attractions and disadvantages of reverse auctions in construction procurement are discussed. Guidelines on the proper context for using reverse auctions in construction procurement are provided. Recommendations for further research to provide improved understanding and limitations of using reverse auctions in construction procurement are given.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | bidding; procurement; reverse auctions; e-commerce |
| Index terms: | construction procurement, commerce, construction project, bidding, internet, construction sector, tendering process, e-commerce, strategy |
| Subjects: | contractual arrangements, digital commerce, bidding, computing systems, asset management, industry analysis, tendering, management, production management |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Research Practice, Project Management, Procurement, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here