This paper provides guidance for developing risk-based management tools to improve the procurement (purchasing) performance of SMEs. Extant academic literature only offers little support on developing such tools and does not consider the wide variety of SMEs. The paper defines a procurement tool for SMEs as any structured managerial aid that one or more persons use for analysing, structuring or influencing the management and effective execution of activities within SME procurement processes. In the context of this research such tools are directed at identifying risks or uncertainties in procurement processes and at improving such processes through effective analysis and decision-making. The paper draws from SME and entrepreneurial literature related to strategy, sustainability, innovation or risk management, and from literature related to procurement management and maturity grids.It discusses literature on developing management tools and criteria on assessing the quality of such tools. It discusses key aspects and organisational variables related to the application and adoption of such tools. It then presents a five-step instrument with guidelines and criteria to develop risk-based procurement management tools for entrepreneurs and SMEs. These guidelines are described as to be used in action research with student researchers and company research participants.
This paper provides guidance for developing risk-based management tools to improve the procurement (purchasing) performance of SMEs. Extant academic literature only offers little support on developing such tools and does not consider the wide variety of SMEs. The paper defines a procurement tool for SMEs as any structured managerial aid that one or more persons use for analysing, structuring or influencing the management and effective execution of activities within SME procurement processes. In the context of this research such tools are directed at identifying risks or uncertainties in procurement processes and at improving such processes through effective analysis and decision-making. The paper draws from SME and entrepreneurial literature related to strategy, sustainability, innovation or risk management, and from literature related to procurement management and maturity grids.It discusses literature on developing management tools and criteria on assessing the quality of such tools. It discusses key aspects and organisational variables related to the application and adoption of such tools. It then presents a five-step instrument with guidelines and criteria to develop risk-based procurement management tools for entrepreneurs and SMEs. These guidelines are described as to be used in action research with student researchers and company research participants.
Traditionally the construction industry in New Zealand and in other countries has seen a low productivity and a low track record for successful sustainable innovations. This has a negative impact on private and government spending, on quality and on health and environmental aspects. This research proposal posits that the construction industry needs disruptive (discontinuous, radical) technology innovations to be able to make drastic improvements. Such innovations often come from entrepreneurial small firms from outside the industry or at the beginning of supply chains and must be procured and adopted into such chains. This PhD proposal focuses on procurement activities of such firms in the New Zealand construction industry when they conduct disruptive waste-reducing innovations. These procurement activities must be aligned with (internal and external) innovation activities for an optimal firm performance. This performance is moderated by four clusters of internal and external variables.
