Stephen B. Gordon, Stanley D. Zemansky and Alex Sekwat
This article revisits two vital questions largely ignored in the scholarly literature devoted to professionalism in government. First, is the public purchaser a professional? And…
Abstract
This article revisits two vital questions largely ignored in the scholarly literature devoted to professionalism in government. First, is the public purchaser a professional? And second, is public purchasing a profession? Our reexamination of the first question led us to conclude that a public purchaser that meets certain requirements in government purchasing practices distinct from traits reserved for recognized traditional professions such as law, medicine and clergy can be a professional. Furthermore, when we analyzed the basic criteria that characterized a profession such as the existence of esoteric knowledge, rigorous formal training, codes of ethics, representative association, autonomy in practice, and criteria for admission into the occupation, we concluded that public purchasing is a profession.
Government procurement has been a neglected area of study in higher education and research. This symposium is one of the first efforts in examining government procurement. This…
Abstract
Government procurement has been a neglected area of study in higher education and research. This symposium is one of the first efforts in examining government procurement. This article will provide a brief overview of government procurement developments and summarize major themes of manuscripts included in the symposium.
Joseph J. Schiele and Clifford P. McCue
The purpose of this research is to use a case‐based approach to develop an improved understanding of the conditions under which municipal purchasing departments can be…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to use a case‐based approach to develop an improved understanding of the conditions under which municipal purchasing departments can be meaningfully involved in acquisition processes for consulting services.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected at five Canadian municipalities and involved a detailed examination of ten cases where the supply function demonstrated meaningful involvement in the acquisition process.
Findings
Findings, along with organizational behavior literature on trust, were used to develop a conceptual model and tentative measurement scales that may be used to test the validity of the theory developed.
Originality/value
This work addresses the problem of low public sector purchasing department involvement in these important purchase decisions and some significant gaps in the public procurement literature.