Title: Building procurement in a developing country: a comparison study between public and private sectors

Authors: Mastura Jaafar; Nurhidayah Mohd Radzi

Addresses: Quantity Surveying, School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains, Malaysia. ' Quantity Surveying, School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains, Malaysia

Abstract: Public and private sectors have different work cultures that lead to different procurement usage. Changes in the industry have pushed the need to adopt new procurement systems. The present study explores the differences between public and private sectors' procurement systems in terms of usage and problems. A quantitative study was conducted on 141 industry players, covering contractors, consultants, and clients. Results showed that the traditional system is highly practiced by both sectors in the construction industry. However, the private sector has not given priority to the traditional lump sum bill of quantity. Comparison of the problems revealed that disputes appear in all dominant systems. Among the significant variables that have been identified in a specific procurement system are legal, risk, and operations. The detailed research findings are explained in the discussion. The present study has contributed to broadening the knowledge of the procurement system used in a developing country.

Keywords: building procurement; public sector; private sector; developing countries; construction industry; procurement systems.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPM.2012.048878

International Journal of Procurement Management, 2012 Vol.5 No.5, pp.608 - 626

Published online: 16 Aug 2014 *

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