Moving beyond one-off procurement innovation; an ambidexterity perspective
ISSN: 1535-0118
Article publication date: 29 November 2019
Issue publication date: 20 February 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The development of innovative procurement instruments can be costly and risky. To capitalize on successful innovative instruments, it is essential that these are reused. However, reuse can be problematic in project-based public client organizations. This paper aims to apply the ambidexterity concept of integration mechanisms to examine how such reuse can be facilitated.
Design/methodology/approach
An initial framework is developed to conceptualize and contextualize the ambidexterity integration mechanism for the procurement function of a multi-project public client. Concluding that, in this situation, an organizational procedure is an appropriate interpretation of the integration mechanism, a design science project is carried out to develop and implement a procedure in a real-life setting.
Findings
Reconstructed reuse patterns confirm the need to have an actionable integration mechanism implemented. Integration, in the sense of drawing benefits from successful one-off innovative procurement instruments, may fail unnoticed if not organized and deliberately managed. The procedure developed in the design science project demonstrates how such integration can be achieved.
Originality/value
Although research on ambidexterity has grown exponentially in the past decade, it is yet to be applied in the field of public procurement. Furthermore, the application of design science research is novel in this field of literature. The paper illustrates how both can help solve a relevant organizational problem.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank ProRail, which manages The Netherlands rail infrastructure, for enabling and financing this research.
Citation
Plantinga, H., Voordijk, H. and Dorée, A. (2020), "Moving beyond one-off procurement innovation; an ambidexterity perspective", Journal of Public Procurement, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOPP-08-2019-0052
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited