Title: Effect of late payments on the transaction costs of Brazilian public procurement carried out through electronic auctions
Authors: Matheus Pereira Libório; Patrícia Bernardes; Petr Ekel; Luiz Flavio Autran Monteiro Gomes
Addresses: Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, 500, Dom José Gaspar Avenue, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30535-901, Brazil ' Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, 500, Dom José Gaspar Avenue, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30535-901, Brazil ' Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, 500, Dom José Gaspar Avenue, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30535-901, Brazil ' IBMEC School of Business, 118, President Wilson Avenue, Office #1110, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20030-020, Brazil
Abstract: This research investigates the effects of late payments on the performance of micro and small companies in public procurement. The study uses 214,564 records of electronic auctions performed by public buyers between 2016 and 2018 in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The theoretical framework is supported in the transaction costs literature and the operational framework in agent-based models. Results show that public buyers benefit themselves by paying contracts on time. Firstly, on average, product prices can be 1.06 times lower, as suppliers no longer transfer transaction costs by managing late payments to product prices. Secondly, product prices can be even lower, as product prices are 1.2% cheaper for each additional supplier in the auction, and micro and small companies increase their participation in auctions by 30%. The research contributions are associated with predicting the efficiency of laws in reducing transaction costs to support (or not) changes in the current law.
Keywords: transaction costs; public procurement; electronic auctions; agent-based models.
International Journal of Procurement Management, 2023 Vol.18 No.2, pp.260 - 278
Received: 21 May 2022
Accepted: 27 May 2022
Published online: 01 Sep 2023 *