New Article Analyzing Reverse Auctions in Government in the Journal of Public Procurement

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This is a very good scholarly article on the use of reverse auctions across government, both in the United States and around the world, that has just been published in the Journal of Public Procurement. It is entitled, "ELECTRONIC REVERSE AUCTIONS AND THE PUBLIC SECTOR: FACTORS OF SUCCESS." The article was authored by Moshe E. Shalev and Stee Asbjornsen, who are the Contracts Officer, and an Associate Procurement Officer, respectively, with the United Nations Secretariat Procurement Division in New York City. The very expansive article should be a must read for all involved in public procurement, as it speaks to the power of competition that reverse auctions bring to governmental acquisition. The article's Abstract is reproduced below:


ABSTRACT. Electronic reverse auctions (e-RAs) provide purchasers with an
opportunity for greater savings, transparency and administrative benefits.
This paper reviews the literature, identifying the factors relevant to public
sector e-RA success, and then tests these factors through a statistical
analysis of a large sample of e-RAs, with a view towards providing guidance
to public sector purchasers looking to conduct e-RAs. Our research found no
correlation between e-RA success and the number of bidders or auction
volume, but did find correlation between e-RA success and (1) competition
among suppliers, (2) purchase complexity, and (3) purchase specification.
The number of bidders was found to be correlated with competition among
suppliers, specification and complexity. Auction volume was found to be
correlated with none of the factors. We discuss the possible explanations for
our results and draw conclusions for public sector procurement managers to
consider when deciding whether to conduct an e-RA for a particular
purchase. 


Now, the article itself is a bit hard to access (unless you happen to subscribe to the Journal of Public Procurement. It resides on the Scribd website, and you can download it from this URL (although it may cost you unless you wish to post a document or presentation in return):


http://www.scribd.com/doc/39032383/Electronic-Reverse-Auction-and-the-Public-Sector-Factors-of-Success-Moshe-E-Shalev-Stee-Asbjorensen


Seek it out - well worth the trouble!

David Wyld, Professor of Management
Southeastern Louisiana University

Wyld About Business (http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/)

From the Reverse Auction Research Center: http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

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