Title: Untapped potential in Albania's e-procurement: exploring the consequences of competition on savings

Authors: Edlira Martiri; Etion Kapedani; Teuta Xhindi

Addresses: Faculty of Economy, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania ' Faculty of Economy, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania ' Faculty of Engineering, Informatics and Architecture, European University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania

Abstract: This quantitative analysis focuses in Albania's e-procurement data from 2010 to 2023, which amounts to 5.33 billion Euros awarded through 35,489 different contracts. To evaluate the effect that competition in public procurement has on savings the gathered data underwent segregation based on the number of offers received per tender. The metrics utilised are the amount of funds contracted; the number of tenders and finally relative savings. This research concludes that the largest amount of funds in Albania's public procurement has been awarded via procedures that attracted only one single bid, with low incurred savings. Simple linear regression is used to measure the effect that competition has on savings of public money, yielding a robust R-square of 0.9587. This data model demonstrates an increase of 6.24% on savings when the number of bids is increased by one, concluding that Albania needs to embark on enhancing competition in public procurement.

Keywords: public procurement; savings per offer; competition; bids; simple linear regression; Albania; transparency; integrity; sustainable growth; economic development; policy impact; procurement legislation; resource allocation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPM.2026.151108

International Journal of Procurement Management, 2026 Vol.25 No.2, pp.176 - 193

Received: 27 Sep 2024
Accepted: 12 Oct 2024
Published online: 14 Jan 2026 *

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