Public procurement management between regularity and performance

Abstract

With a view to meeting citizens' expectations under the best possible conditions, the regulated public procurement procedure is the best way for public bodies to satisfy this quest. As a result, it is a key driver of the country's economic and social growth, which has led the legislator to regulate this procedure with the aim of guaranteeing the effectiveness and efficiency of spending while eradicating the bad practices of public managers who put their personal interests ahead of those of the citizen. The awarding of public contracts depends on respect for the principles of free access to the public procurement market for economic players, fair treatment of competitors' bids in compliance with the infernal provisions of the law, protection of bidders' rights, and justification of the choices made by public purchasers in as transparent a manner as possible. In this sense, applying these principles makes it possible to meet the needs of public players while ensuring rational management of public funds. The awarding of public contracts depends on respect for the principles of free access to the public procurement market for economic players, fair treatment of competitors' bids in compliance with the infernal provisions of the law, protection of bidders' rights, and justification of the choices made by public purchasers in as transparent a manner as possible. In this sense, applying these principles makes it possible to meet the needs of public players while ensuring rational management of public funds. In line with the theory of new public management, public bodies are increasingly adopting private sector management tools, as part of a quest for effectiveness, efficiency and economy, represented by the three E's, which are all facets of performance. However, many modernisation reforms have been undertaken, focusing mainly on the procurement phase and aspects of procedural compliance, without necessarily specifying how to achieve the desired objectives, analyze project opportunities, or evaluate and measure results and impacts. The aim of this paper is to understand the intentions of public actors in terms of performance and regularity. In other words, we seek to understand how regularity influences the performance of public procurement and whether high-performance public procurement systematically complies with the established rules. We will also look at best practices for reconciling these two aspects. Adopting an interpretive approach, we sought the views of thirty public managers from various sectors to deepen our understanding of the link between these two aspects. Our results clearly highlight the shortcomings in the harmonization of performance and regulatory compliance imperatives in public procurement management.

Keywords: Public procurement, New public management, Regularity, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Performance.

Classification JEL: H11

Paper type: Empirical Research