Small But Not Too Much! Evaluating Small and Medium Enterprises’ Performance on the Italian Government’s E-Marketplace

18 Pages Posted: 14 Aug 2012

See all articles by Gian Luigi Albano

Gian Luigi Albano

Consip S.p.A. - The National Central Purchasing Body; LUISS "G. Carli", Department of Economics and Finance

Federico Antellini Russo

Consip S.p.A. - The Italian Public Procurement Agency

Gionata Castaldi

University of Rome Tor Vergata - Faculty of Economics

Roberto Zampino

Consip S.p.A/Consip ltd. (The National Central Purchasing Body)

Date Written: August 14, 2012

Abstract

E-procurement is widely advocated as an effective tool to promote the participation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as micro enterprises in the public procurement market. However, little evidence exists as to what factors may influence the allocation of contracts to differently sized suppliers in the same class of micro, small and medium firms.

We address this issue by analyzing a rather rich and unique data set, namely the 'direct award' (low-value) transactions that took place on the Italian e-marketplace during the period 2005-2010. Although micro suppliers are the most represented group of firms in the e-marketplace, evidence suggests that medium-sized firms (the largest in the reference group) display the highest success rates in getting public contracts, especially when contract values are sufficiently high. Degree of loyalty with buyers and geographical location of both buyers and suppliers also emerge as relevant factors of success in the e-procurement market, proving, at least to some extent, that some features of “physical” procurement markets are mirrored in the 'virtual' markets.

Keywords: public (e-)procurement, SMEs, ordered logistic models

JEL Classification: D02, H57, L14, L11

Suggested Citation

Albano, Gian Luigi and Antellini Russo, Federico and Castaldi, Gionata and Zampino, Roberto, Small But Not Too Much! Evaluating Small and Medium Enterprises’ Performance on the Italian Government’s E-Marketplace (August 14, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2129127 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2129127

Gian Luigi Albano (Contact Author)

Consip S.p.A. - The National Central Purchasing Body ( email )

Via Isonzo, 19/E
Rome, 00198
Italy
+39 06 85449.627 (Phone)

LUISS "G. Carli", Department of Economics and Finance ( email )

Via O. Tommasini 1
Rome, Roma 00100
Italy

Federico Antellini Russo

Consip S.p.A. - The Italian Public Procurement Agency ( email )

Research and Development
Via Isonzo, 19/E
00198 Roma
Italy

Gionata Castaldi

University of Rome Tor Vergata - Faculty of Economics

Via Columbia n.2
Rome, rome 00100
Italy

Roberto Zampino

Consip S.p.A/Consip ltd. (The National Central Purchasing Body) ( email )

Research Unit
Via Isonzo, 19/E
Roma, RM 00198
Italy

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