Public Procurement in the Czech Republic

Relations between public procurement, regional development, and e-procurement are discussed in this chapter. First, main themes of the debate are reviewed. Subsequently, some relations between public procurement, regional development, and e-procurement are discussed. The Czech Republic is used as a case study in this regard. The authors’ findings confirm the potential of public procurement to stimulate development of Czech regions. Spatially, public procurement may not be regarded as a suitable tool for reduction of regional disparities. However, there seems to be an important impact of public procurement on the development of local small and medium enterprises. In addition, the authors’ findings point at some links between public procurement and the concepts of sustainable development and competitiveness. Nevertheless, the dominant position of price as evaluation criterion indicates that the linkages are rather weak. Finally, the increasing interest of the Czech Republic in e-procurement was documented.

Conditions Determining the Success of Public E-Procurement

The dynamic global environment has necessitated governments to adopt a systems approach of integrating suppliers, customers, and information linkages in an endeavor to create and sustain value for public services. The evolution of the concept “the customer is king” has placed the customer foremost in public management thinking. As a result, optimizing customer value in the public domain has become a focal point in managing procurement. The large quantity of public resources used for service delivery points to the importance of efficiency and effectiveness in expenditures as well as accountability. E-Procurement systems provide mechanisms for controlling, simplifying, and automating goods and services from different suppliers. While benefits like stricter control over spending authorization, easier transaction processing and elimination of redundant stock are achieved through automated procurement processes; the viability and success of e-procurement for the public sector is determined by various conditions. The conditions for successful implementation of an e-procurement system are explored as every government activity involves the spending of public monies on goods and services. Any failings in e-procurement practices can create possibilities for large-scale losses through incompetence, waste, and fraud, which directly impact the public.

Electronic Procurement in the Construction Industry

The benefits of e-business have been widely promoted but the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector has lagged behind other sectors in the adoption of e-procurement. The prospective benefits for the AEC sector are suggested by the proven advantages of general e-procurement where adoption has been faster and deeper. However, several studies indicated that barely 20% of documentation is tendered electronically, suggesting there are barriers to e-procurement. In order to promote adoption of e-procurement in the AEC sector, it is important to establish the status of the industry and identify the drivers as well as barriers to e-procurement. This chapter provides a detailed discussion of the state of the industry and its drivers and barriers while ranking these according to its importance. It acts as a reference guide to allow those implementing e-procurement in construction to make informed decisions as to where to focus their efforts to achieve successful realisation incorporating the benefits and avoiding the pitfalls in the process. The chapter also provides some insight into the current state, trends, and future directions of e-procurement in the construction industry.

Public Sector Transformation and the Design of Public Policies for Electronic Commerce and the New Economy

The current situation of taxation of electronic commerce is still in its infancy in regard to its actual implementation as well as in the existence of doctrinal principles and generally accepted guidelines on the characteristics and implementation of taxation. This chapter uses the concepts, analytical tools, and appropriate models of economic analysis to understand and explain the economic phenomena observed in the New Economy and how the public sector can adapt to the new challenges. Thus, the chapter analyzes the optimal design of tax policy for electronic markets, in particular electronic commerce, and the guidelines of antitrust policy in electronic markets. This chapter also analyzes the strategies that can be adopted by firms in the New Economy to avoid or minimize the risk of intervention by antitrust authorities.

Public Sector Transformation

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has embarked on the privatization of its public enterprises with the main objectives of improving the efficiency of the national economy, enlarging Saudi citizens’ ownership of productive assets, and encouraging local and foreign capital investment in the Kingdom. Subsequently, in 2003, the Saudi Council of Ministries approved a list of twenty-two targeted economic activities and government services to be privatized and the private sector is being invited to participate in many economic activities and services. As such, the aim of this chapter is to present the historical context and rationale for privatization in Saudi Arabia. The objectives and implementation process taken by the Saudi government to create a suitable environment for private sector investment and the issues and problems associated with privatization initiatives are also discussed in this chapter.

Public Sector Transformation in Malaysia

Public sector governance relates to accountability, transparency, inclusiveness, and also effectiveness and efficiency of governmental organizations. Such objectives have been the intended outcome of some of the public transformation and reformation programs in Malaysia. However, even after the various improvement initiatives, there are still complaints made against public organizations, especially against local authorities regarding their lack of good governance and accountability. Thus, the question that needs to be answered is why local governance is still a problematic issue even after all the initiatives that have been implemented over the years. As such, the various challenges facing local authorities that constrains them from achieving the intended outcomes of transformation programs is discussed in this chapter. In so doing, a contextual description of the local governmental system and the contemporary reformation programs of public organizations, specifically the local authorities, are explained. In addition, the recommendations to overcome those challenges and to achieve good governance are explained in this chapter as well.

Black Economic Empowerment, ICT, and Preferential Public Procurement in South Africa

Broad-based black economic empowerment has been a central part of the South African government’s economic transformation strategy. The main purpose of BEE is to increase the number of black people that manage, own, and control the country’s economy, and as a result, to reduce income inequalities and to contribute to economic transformation in South Africa. During apartheid in South Africa, the government procurement system favoured large, established businesses and made it difficult for newly established businesses to participate in the procurement system. This chapter gives an overview of the Black Economic Empowerment policy as a means to achieve socio-economic transformation in South Africa by providing preferences for Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDIs) and small businesses, when making procurement decisions. It also examines how procurement is used as a policy tool by government while simultaneously ensuring that it does not contradict the constitutional right to equality. The chapter also explores the implications of the Preferential Public Procurement Framework Act (Act 5 of 2000) and the latest procurement regulations. Finally, it discusses the use of ICT and the vital role it plays in preferential procurement in South Africa.

Technology Advancement and E-Procurement in the US

E-procurement has had a tremendous impact on the modernization of government and administration. In the U.S., the relationship between technology and e-procurement is central in determining the ability to adopt successful e-procurement. Significant investment in technology and human capital is required for the implementation of e-procurement systems. Despite widespread efforts to initialize e-procurement through direct investment in information and component technologies, a substantial portion of administrations’ efforts at achieving e-governance have failed. The need for customized solutions and managerial intervention has challenged government at all levels. Furthermore, technological advancement has not been welcomed by all administrations. Nonetheless, the advantages of e-procurement typically justify the effort required to implement and maintain such systems. Reductions in transaction costs, increased transparency, and improved relationships between government and businesses are all advantages of e-procurement. While there are significant challenges to e-procurement not limited to corruption, the benefits of e-procurement far outweigh the costs.

The Architecture of the EU Structural Instruments in Romania

The present chapter, after a short introduction presenting basic information about the European Union cohesion policy, presents the seven operational programmes that have been negotiated by Romania with the European Commission for the current programming period. The difficulties deriving from public procurement-acquisition procedures in Romania are identified; such difficulties are encountered during the implementation of European projects, thus questioning the effectiveness of the Electronic Public Procurement-Acquisition System. Although it was created with a view to securing the transparency of public funds distribution, it does not allow for tracking the concluded contracts compliance with procurement-acquisition terms. It is at this stage that the most serious problems related to public funds effective use arise. Emphasis is also placed on innovative tools used for submitting, evaluating, and monitoring projects, emphasizing the role of Management Authorities, as public bodies for managing this process. For each operational programme, an econometric model GARCH-like has been developed and applied for realizing this analysis at the level of NUTS2. Bucharest-Ilfov region has been chosen as a case study. Conclusions emphasize the beneficial role of such models especially for assessing the current status of absorbing the structural funds as well as for formulating suggestions for improvement as regards the next programming period. The chapter also pays special attention to the potential use of innovative tools in the application and implementing process as drivers for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the process.

Persuading for Change

Persuasion happens when somebody tries to change someone else’s attitudes or behavior without using coercion or force. In different cultures, different persuasion principles seem to work better than others. This has to be taken into account in marketing and design. It is especially true when developing persuasive systems, i.e. systems that aim at changing the user. In this chapter, the authors study the role of culture in the context of authority and social proof. This was examined through positivist survey conducted by South Korean and Finnish College Students. The received results suggest that authority plays a bigger role in the Republic of Korea than in Finland. Ergo, the authors conclude that the implications of culture should be regarded when designing systems that aim at any kind of change.