Antecedents of supplier selection decisions in the public sector in Nigeria

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to develop and test a conceptual model of supplier selection decisions in the public sector. The study seeks to determine the relative importance of a broad range of non-economic variables in explaining supplier selection decisions during strategic organizational purchases.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a national sample of 341 senior staff and top management team (TMT) members in 40 public sector organizations in Nigeria by using structured questionnaires.FindingsResults of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis shows that government policy requirements, social ties of organizational actors, party politics, decision-makers’ experience and the perception of instrumental ethical work climates are the most important determinants of strategic supplier selection decisions, followed in a descending order of importance by the perception of rules ethical work climates, self-enhancement personal values, CEOs’ structural position, self-transcendent personal values and the perception of time pressure. Findings also indicate that the choice of a supplier per se is not an important determinant of organizational performance.Originality/valueNo prior study has brought together, in a single model, the broad range of variables employed in this study with a view to exploring their relative importance in explaining public sector supplier selection decisions in a non-western country context. The findings of this study have implications for Marketing Managers looking to do business with public sector firms in emerging markets.