Organisational choices in public procurement: what can public management learn from the private sector?

In the public context, the efficient and effective management of procurement activities has a crucial impact on the achievement of operational and broader government objectives. In particular, the potential contribution of procurement within local governments has been broadly recognized, and organisational procurement choices represent a strategic aspect that must be managed to contribute to these objectives. Through the analysis of data on 371 Italian municipalities, this paper discusses how to design procurement organisation variables for local governments. Three possible organisational models are identified (i.e., authoritative procurement, silo procurement, and local procurement) and discussed from the perspective of internal and external contingencies that may affect organisational decisions.