Paper Type
Complete Research Paper
Description
European tendering legislation aims to enhance competitiveness by promoting equality, proportionality, transparency and non-discrimination. This legislation applies to the purchase of software packages by large public institutions. This study aims to clarify how this tendering legislation shapes software selection processes. \ \ By examining the selection of a strategically important software package at a professional service organization, this study provides initial evidence on how the decision-making process in software selection is affected by the tendering process in terms of the following dimensions: 1) juridification, 2) objectivity, 3) linearity, 4) formalization and 5) communication. \ \ The decision-making quality of this tendering process is evaluated from the buyer´s perspective against functional, economic and political norms of rationality. From each of these rationalities, the tendered software selection process results in losses as well as gains. A notable finding is that tendering does not exclude political manoeuvring, with power and influnce practiced in other ways. \ \ Key words: Tendering, Software selection, Decision-making process, Functional Rationality, Political Rationality, Economic Rationality, Decision-making quality \
HOW EUROPEAN TENDERING LEGISLATION AFFECTS SOFTWARE SELECTION
European tendering legislation aims to enhance competitiveness by promoting equality, proportionality, transparency and non-discrimination. This legislation applies to the purchase of software packages by large public institutions. This study aims to clarify how this tendering legislation shapes software selection processes. \ \ By examining the selection of a strategically important software package at a professional service organization, this study provides initial evidence on how the decision-making process in software selection is affected by the tendering process in terms of the following dimensions: 1) juridification, 2) objectivity, 3) linearity, 4) formalization and 5) communication. \ \ The decision-making quality of this tendering process is evaluated from the buyer´s perspective against functional, economic and political norms of rationality. From each of these rationalities, the tendered software selection process results in losses as well as gains. A notable finding is that tendering does not exclude political manoeuvring, with power and influnce practiced in other ways. \ \ Key words: Tendering, Software selection, Decision-making process, Functional Rationality, Political Rationality, Economic Rationality, Decision-making quality \