Mitigating risks in public procurement
| Date | 04 February 2025 |
| Pages | 140-176 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JOPP-07-2024-0074 |
| Published date | 04 February 2025 |
| Author | Stella Paraskeva,Giannis T. Tsoulfas |
Mitigating risks in public
procurement
Stella Paraskeva
School of Social Sciences, MBA Programme, Hellenic Open University,
Patra, Greece, and
Giannis T. Tsoulfas
Department of Agribusiness and Supply Chain Management,
Agricultural University of Athens, Thiva, Greece and
School of Social Sciences, MBA Programme, Hellenic Open University, Patra, Greece
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to examine the challengesand risks in public procurement, focusing on Greece’s
context within the EU framework. It seeks to provide guidance on mitigating potential risks throughout
different stages of public procurement by leveraging the knowledge of Greek professionals and existing
literature.The research explores the implementation of the national public procurementplan in Greece, aiming
to accelerate contract awards, reduce bureaucracy, promote competition and encourage cost-effectiveness
among contractingauthorities.
Design/methodology/approach –The study uses a qualitative approach, combining a literature review
with expert interviews. Greekprofessionals with extensive experience in public procurement wereconsulted
to gather insightson current practices, challenges and riskmitigation strategies. The research alsoanalyzes EU
public procurement strategiesand their implementation in Greece. This mixed-methodapproach allows for a
comprehensive understanding of the public procurement landscape, integrating theoreticalframeworks with
practicalinsights from industry experts.
Findings –The research reveals significant improvements in Greece’s public procurement sector despite
persistent irregularities and challenges. Key findings include the need for increased transparency,
professionalization of sectorstaff, support for SMEs and enhanced digitization. The study identifiesspecific
risks at various stages of the procurement process and proposes mitigation strategies. It also highlights the
importanceofimplementingthe national public procurement plan to streamline processes, reduce bureaucratic
hurdlesand promote competition and cost-effectiveness.
Social implications –Effective public procurement management has far-reaching social implications. By
improving the quality and efficiency of public spending, it can enhance public services and infrastructure,
ultimately benefiting citizens’quality of life. Increased transparency and fair competition can foster trust
between citizens and government, promoting a culture of accountability. Supporting SMEs in public
procurement can stimulate economic growth and job creation. Furthermore, promoting sustainability and
innovation through procurement practices can contribute to broader societal goals such as environmental
protectionand technological advancement.
Originality/value –This study provides a unique perspective on public procurement challenges and risk
management in Greece within theEU context. By combining insights from experienced Greek professionals
with a comprehensive literature review, it offers practical, context-specific guidance for risk mitigationin
public procurement. The research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on public procurement
reform in EU member states, particularly those facing similar challenges to Greece. Its findings and
recommendations can inform policy-making, improve procurement practices and enhance the overall
effectivenessof public spending in Greece and potentiallyother EU countries.
Keywords Digital, Procurement, Public sector
Paper type Research paper
JOPP
25,1
140
Received3 July2024
Revised3 January 2025
Accepted16January2025
Journalof Public Procurement
Vol.25 No. 1, 2025
pp. 140-176
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1535-0118
DOI 10.1108/JOPP-07-2024-0074
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1535-0118.htm
1. Introduction
Purchasinggoods, services or works through a publiccontract from business partners selected
by the contractingauthority is known as public procurement. Contracting officers are state,
regional or local authorities; public law-regulated entities; or associations established by one
or more of theseauthorities or public law-governedbodies. A state’s economygreatly benefits
from public procurement. It provides the public revenues authorities with the necessary
inputs (i.e. goods, civil works and services) at a fair price and with the best possible
quality. To achieve long-term social and economic growth, it also functions as a policy
instrument.
The public procurement cycle is described by Karanina and Kartavyh(2019) as a system
that consists of procedures with external inputs such as public contract supplies, services or
works and outputs the satisfactionof societal and state needs. The cycle begins when a need
arises and ends when a demand is satisfied. As soon as the need arises, the contracting
authority can supply the required amount to satisfy its demands through its budget and
financial services. If the demand has been budgeted for and the resources are available, the
contracting authority must follow the correct tendering procedure to choose the best
provider.It occurs after the demand is met, the agreement is achieved and it is implemented.
Governments are significantconsumers of products, services and labor, and these markets
provide vast opportunities for international trade. Given that government procurement
accounts for a sizable percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), it has enormous
potential to be of interest to international trade. According to the Spend Network global
expenditure amountsto $13tn, representing on average 13% to 20% ofGDP globally.
Different rulesand laws apply to procurement in different partsof the world. Owing to the
importance of this enormous market,the World Trade Organization (WTO)came to a deal in
which the parties adhere to regulations ensuring conditions of competition in public
procurement that arejust, transparent and open. According to the WTO’sofficial website, the
Government Procurement Agreement has 22 parties comprising 49 WTO members and
allows for open procurement procedures to facilitate international commerce worth more
than 1.7 trillion dollars annually(World Trade Organization, 2012). Additionally, using an
evaluation approach, governmentsare supported in improving their procurement systems by
organizations such as the OECD. The negotiated standards of regional and international
agreements such as the EU and theNorth America Free Trade Agreement have attempted to
limit some of the preferential and discriminatory practices in government procurement
operations by requiring countriesto adhere to certain fundamental principles, such as
transparency and nondiscrimination. Enhancing import competition in government
procurement is essential to preserving downward cost pressures on purchases of products
and services, providing value for taxpayers, raising the standard of government services and
facilitating more efficientresource allocation.
According to Our World in Data (2017), public procurement accounted for 10.25% of GDP
in Greece at the end of 2016, and the Hellenic Single Public Procurement Authority (2024)
website lists 3,815 contracting authorities throughout the country in its Register of Contracting
Authorities. The national organization known as the Hellenic Single Public Procurement
Authority (HSPPA) oversees the implementation of Directives 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU. It
also offers advice and information regarding the interpretation and application of EU public
procurement law and functions in accordance with the Commission’s public procurement
services (Hellenic Single Public Procurement Authority, 2019).
The Ministry of Development has approved the ActionPlan of the New National Public
Procurement Strategy for the years 2021–2025 (Ministry of Development, 2021) with the
goal of improving the effectiveness of the public contracting process and the procurement
Journal of Public
Procurement
141
system. Four pillars provide an analysis of the new National Strategy’s primary goals and
objectives. The institutionalframework of public procurement is the focus of Pillar A, while
the full shift to digital public procurementis the focus of Pillar B, which addresses the digital
transformation of the public procurement sector. Pillar C pertains to the attainment of more
comprehensive strategic objectives and the execution of policies via public procurement.
Pillar D addresses theissue of good governance in the field of public procurement.
The Member States are compelled to adapt Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and
2014/25/EU into their national legislative frameworks as a result of the radical
modernization of public procurement in the EU and their approval.TheSingle Independent
Public Procurement Authority in Greece, the responsible body for the transposition of the
Directives, formedworking groups, drafted a law, conducted therequired public consultation
and comment elaboration and then submitted the transposition plan to the appropriate
drafting committee. The mechanism outlined in legislation 4412/2016, which was approved
earlier, streamlines and unifies the institutional architecture that oversees Greek public
procurement law.Recently, legislation 4782/2021 revised law 4412/2016.The following are
anticipated ways that the changes envisioned in the most recent amendment of Law 4412
with Law 4782 would benefit PublicProcurement:
•quickening the processes involved in awarding and carrying out public contracts;
•lowering the administrative roadblocks, the intricacy of outsourcing processes and
the execution of public contracts to draw in a larger proportion of SMEs for public
procurement; and
•boosting competition and pressuring contracting agencies to use quality-price
relationship-based public procurement processes.
In this paper, an overview of the evolution of public procurement in Greece is provided.
Then, the focus is shifted to risk managementin the case of public procurement, and various
risks are discussed as they may emerge during the various procurement phases. In addition,
recent literature which addresses variousareas of risk management in public procurement is
analyzed. Based on this analysis, 12 factorsaiming at mitigating risks in public procurement
are identified and analyzed. These factors form the basis for qualitative research, where the
insights from twelve Greek experts on public procurement are gathered and analyzed. The
paper ends with some concluding remarks.
2.Literature review
2.1Public procurement in Greece
Public procurement in Greece has been studied from various perspectives, offering insights
to academics and practitioners. In this section, relevant academic work is reviewed, which
highlights areas of progress,persistent challenges and opportunities for future improvement.
For the identification of the body of knowledge about public procurement in Greece, the
Scopus database was employedusing the following search query:
(TITLE-ABS-KEY (“public procurement”) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (Greece) OR
TITLE-ABS-KEY (Greek)).
The search looked for articles that mention both “public procurement”and “Greece”or
“Greek”in their title, abstract or keywords, without any limitations. This search led to 52
results. The results were screened based ontheir abstracts and 36 articles were selected as
they provide insights on the evolution of public procurement in Greece. Three additional
articles were includedbased on reviewers’suggestions.
JOPP
25,1
142
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