Windapo, A; Adediran, A and Olugboyega, O (2019) Procurement strategies influencing small and medium contractor development in South Africa. Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers: Management, Procurement and Law, 172(6), pp. 253-263. ISSN 17514304
Abstract
In South Africa, the post-apartheid regime offers small and medium enterprise (SME) construction firms opportunities to develop through targeted procurement strategies. However, there are limited studies that determine the level of the relationships between the procurement strategies and the development of SME construction firms. Hence, this study investigated whether there is a variation in the effect of procurement strategies on the development of SME construction firms. A quantitative research approach was employed in collecting data from 176 SME construction firms in South Africa. The data collected were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling, mean item scores and the Kruskal-Wallis test. The findings revealed that there is a relationship between procurement strategies and the socio-economic development of specific classes of SME construction firms in South Africa. The study also found that there is a slight mismatch between procurement strategy and SME development outcomes for different SME sizes. It was concluded that the achievement of SME development has little to do with preferences or the use of specific procurement strategies. The study recommends that public-sector clients should not entirely treat SMEs as a homogenous block when using traditional project procurement. Further studies that examine how different characteristics of SMEs influence SME development are recommended.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | contracting; procurement; project management |
| Index terms: | South Africa, preference, partial least square, project procurement, variation, structural equation modelling, public-sector client, contractor development, construction firm, economic development, mismatch, project management, procurement strategy, quantitative research |
| Subjects: | management, contractual condition, project management theory and practice, sociology, statistical analysis, data analysis and analytics, economic development, decision-making and reasoning, Geography, engineering problems, organization, contractual arrangements |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Project Management, Sustainability, Procurement, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Stakeholder Management, Organizational Design, Contract Administration |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
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