مشارکت شرکت های کوچک و متوسط ​​در تأمین تجهیزات عمومی: تاثیر برداشت منابع، سیستم های الکترونیکی و اندازه شرکت

The importance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as employers and suppliers is high, and there are studies that evaluate the benefits of having SMEs as suppliers. The challenges of SMEs as buyers have been explored, but there is little research on the obstacles that SMEs encounter as suppliers. This article focuses on the implications of perceived resources, electronic systems and enterprise size. It uses survey data to analyze what type of resources and characteristics in particular influence the involvement of SMEs in public procurement. The results of hypothesis testing show that perceived lack of resources especially in legal expertise and administration is associated with low SME involvement. By analyzing suppliers to municipalities and state organizations separately, it is found that lack of electronic systems in order processing and invoicing is related with low involvement of SMEs in state procurement. In short, this article contributes to the current knowledge on SMEs and public procurement by demonstrating the influence of resource perceptions and electronic systems on SME involvement and by pointing out the differences between the two levels of public sector actors (municipalities and state organizations).

This article examines why it may be difficult for small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) to become suppliers in public procurement, a domain that has not been extensively studied before (Zheng et al., 2006; Clark and Moutray, 2004; Fee et al., 2002; Peet et al., 2002). In the European Union (EU), it is relevant to what extent SMEs should be preferred or assisted in public procurement access. This is particularly due to the legislation that defines the principles for tendering processes and supplier selection in all public organizations. In the EU, companies of all sizes are assumed to have equal opportunities to participate in public procurement because EU public procurement law has defined the principles for tendering procedures: transparency, equal treatment, genuine competition and non-discrimination. Because of these principles company size cannot be a criterion in comparisons of tenders, but it can play a role in terms of the capacity of an SME to supply to public sector organizations. Even though public sector buyers cannot favour SMEs over larger enterprises according to the EU principles or otherwise support them, it should not be overlooked that public organizations in general may be in favour of encouraging smaller suppliers because of the potential positive impact on local economies. This is why it is important to identify possible obstacles hindering SME involvement in public procurement. Involvement refers to SMEs’ participation in tendering competitions, through which they have a chance of supplying public sector organizations.

The EU procurement principles of transparency, equal treatment and genuine competition are to guarantee that companies of all sizes are given equal treatment in public procurement. Yet, it is unclear what the current position of SMEs is, and therefore this study has analyzed possible reasons explaining the absence of SMEs in public procurement. Specifically, this article contributes to the purchasing literature by presenting survey-based results concerning the involvement of SMEs in public procurement. Previous studies have mostly been case based or aimed at the buying side. Additional new knowledge is created by treating state and municipal sectors separately in the analysis. Factors influencing SME involvement in public procurement have been largely discussed on a national level in several EU countries. This article contributes to this discussion as it used a systematic approach to examine the effect of selected factors on SME involvement in public procurement and provided empirical evidence on the issues. This study also supports and contributes to prior work in the field of entrepreneurship where relationships have been established between resource perceptions and actual firm operations and performance by finding similar results in relation to SME involvement in public procurement. This article suggested a conceptual model, and the key results concern the assumed relationships between SME involvement and resource perceptions, electronic systems and enterprise size (micro vs. small/medium). The results of this study have managerial implications as well. By recognizing the factors hindering SME involvement, all related parties i.e. SMEs, public procurement organizations and other state officials can better design appropriate countermeasures. The results reveal that perceptions on the lack of legal expertise and administrative resources limit the involvement of SMEs in public procurement. This was also observed from the comments of respondents in which they explained that they do not have the time to specify product prices request-by-request and write offers to RFTs. Apart from not bundling purchases into unnecessarily large volumes, there is little that the buyers of public organizations can do to solve this dilemma. However, policymakers should actively look for alternative operating models allowing SMEs to prepare offers without significant financial risks. Moreover, actors in both municipalities and government organizations can provide training on various legislative aspects of public procurement. Design and use of standard documentation in the bidding process can also be considered. The results of the influence of e-systems can be considered either positive or negative. Public organizations benefit from higher use of ordering and invoicing systems, which lower their total process costs. Yet, the requirements for e-systems can exclude small businesses with high potential in terms of innovativeness or other factors. Clearly, implementation of IT systems is primarily the responsibility of the SMEs themselves and an issue that managers in small companies need to consider. Public sector organizations should, however, still be actively involved in supporting and encouraging SMEs to develop their capabilities, for example, by offering expert knowledge on the choice of systems and by standardizing their systems so that one system is applicable to as many public sector clients as possible. Information on RFTs is today available through official communication channels such as TED database. The results of the survey, however, imply that many SMEs either do not know how to access the information or do not have the resources required for checking the databases on a daily basis. Policymakers could encourage and support innovative approaches for identifying relevant RFTs for each enterprise. For example, a service provider could check the databases and send information on relevant RFTs to SMEs on daily basis for a reasonable service fee. Alternatively, SMEs within an industry could form a network in order to share information and so spread the burden of searching for information.