Purpose

The aim is to examine the importance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) see in different network partners regarding successful tendering in public procurement, and whether this perception predicts the number of joint bids and wins.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected by an electronic questionnaire which was sent to the registered users of the leading electronic platform for public procurement in Finland. The data were analysed with statistical methods.

Findings

The findings suggest that a favourable perception of the importance of horizontal networks in public procurement is associated with a larger number of joint bids and better success in joint bidding. However, the results do not establish a positive correlation between vertical networks and consortium bidding.

Research limitations/implications

The data were collected from a single EU country. Since the criteria for bidding consortia may vary between countries, different results might have been achieved from other countries.

Practical implications

SMEs should be encouraged to form bidding consortia and acquire related experience. Policymakers should minimise barriers to consortium bidding, e.g. by offering more information. They should also assess the merits of joint bidding because they rarely encourage SMEs to bid as a consortium.

Social implications

Consortium bidding is a way of enhancing SMEs’ possibilities to participate in public tender contests, even in large contracts.

Originality/value

While consortium bidding has been recognised to enhance SMEs’ possibilities of participating in public procurement, there is limited research into how SMEs’ network collaborations relate to bidding as a consortium.

中文翻译：

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中小企业网络合作伙伴在联合体投标公共部门招标中的重要性

目的

目的是检查中小型企业 (SME) 在不同网络合作伙伴中看到的关于公共采购成功招标的重要性，以及这种看法是否能预测联合投标和中标的数量。

设计/方法/方法

这些数据是通过电子问卷收集的，该问卷发送给芬兰领先的公共采购电子平台的注册用户。数据采用统计学方法进行分析。

发现

调查结果表明，对横向网络在公共采购中的重要性的良好看法与更多的联合投标和联合投标的成功率有关。然而，结果并未在垂直网络和联合体投标之间建立正相关。

研究限制/影响

数据是从一个欧盟国家收集的。由于投标联合体的标准可能因国家而异，因此其他国家可能会取得不同的结果。

实际影响

鼓励中小企业组建招投标联合体，积累相关经验。政策制定者应尽量减少联合体投标的障碍，例如提供更多信息。他们还应该评估联合投标的优点，因为他们很少鼓励中小企业联合投标。

社会影响

联合体投标是提高中小企业参与公开招标的可能性的一种方式，即使是在大合同中也是如此。

原创性/价值

虽然联合体投标已被认为可以提高中小企业参与公共采购的可能性，但关于中小企业网络合作如何与联合体投标相关的研究还很有限。