The influence of business and political ties on supplier selection decisions: the case of the Nigerian public sector
by Eyo Emmanel Essien; Anastasia Konstantopoulou; Ioannis Konstopoulos; George Lodorfos
International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy (IJFIP), Vol. 13, No. 1/2, 2018

Abstract: Extant relevant literature suggests that nonmarket elements such as social ties are important strategic options that may help organisations enhance their competitiveness relative to other competitors when bidding for important supply jobs. However, our current understanding of their effects on organisational outcomes, especially in public supplier selection decisions in emerging economies, is far from complete. Using a sample of 342 experienced senior management team (SMT) members and senior level staff in 40 public sector organisations in Nigeria, this study examined the relative importance of business and political ties as sources of advantage and strategic intelligence for prospective vendors and contractors during strategic supplier selection decisions. Our findings show that both business and political ties are significant predictors of supplier selection outcomes, and their relative importance in the selection outcome is indistinguishable and key to strategic decision making. Overall, our result suggests that both business and political ties can be utilised as sources of important resources by supplier firms.

Online publication date: Thu, 25-Oct-2018

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy (IJFIP):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com