A dynamic performance management approach to frame corruption in public procurement: a case study
ISSN: 1535-0118
Article publication date: 24 March 2021
Issue publication date: 7 May 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to frame the causal relationships between corruption in public procurement and performance of local governments.
Design/methodology/approach
An outcome-based dynamic performance management approach is adopted to explore a representative case study of a small Italian municipality. The model is based on three sources: qualitative primary data generated by face-to-face convergent interviews; secondary data retrieved from documents describing legal cases linked to procurement and open-access repositories; and an extensive literature review.
Findings
Emphasizing the role of community civic morality systemically may help to understand some counterintuitive results in the past research and support decision-makers and policymakers in setting effective strategies to curb the associated negative implications.
Social implications
A dynamic approach of performance management aimed at framing corruption in public procurement may guide policymakers and decision-makers in keeping their “cognitive radar” constantly active, in a way to detect emerging corruptive phenomena that could be otherwise ignored by normal diagnostical approaches. It may also help to promote organizational ethical learning and improve community outcomes.
Originality/value
This research provides a causal and systemic framework of relationships involving local government performance and wrongdoings in public procurement, by including performance risk indicators linked to structural and individualistic causes of corruption.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The focus of the present paper is strictly managerial, and it does not stress on the individuals who may be concerned with the problem statement. It is based on the objective facts which were ascertained by the Italian Magistrates Courts and emerging from official documents publicly available on their official repositories, as well as corroborated during the convergent interviews with some municipal Public Officials. As a result, this paper neither wants to be defamatory towards specific individuals nor towards the Municipality itself, since its purpose is academic only.Given the sensitive topic, informed consent for using data was asked interviewees. No reference to specific persons was intentionally made. The purpose of the research and the use of information retrieved from the interviews were made transparent to all interviewees via standard informative paper.
Special and heartfelt thanks are to Dr Angelo Guerrera for his distinctive politeness, technical suggestions and, especially, moral support.
Citation
Gnoffo, S. (2021), "A dynamic performance management approach to frame corruption in public procurement: a case study", Journal of Public Procurement, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 75-96. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOPP-08-2020-0063
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited