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The PRIME contract is revolutionising the property industry. It has enabled the UK Government’s Department of Social Security to outsource not just its facilities management and property management but also its entire property portfolio and the risks associated with it. PRIME will provide the Department with 22 per cent cost savings over the life of the contract, give it the flexibility to downsize its portfolio to 60 per cent of its original size and replace hundreds of separate service provision contracts with one service provider, Trillium. Trillium is one of the new types of property service providers who are taking advantage of the historical failure of traditional property owners to give occupiers what they want in terms of service and flexibility. The implications for corporate real estate are enormous ‐ who better to deal with occupier problems like surplus space, flexibility, property market risk and service quality than the supply side of the industry. The potential benefits for those property providers on the supply side who are positioned to take advantage are substantial ‐ instead of just rental income from one property for one occupier, there is the opportunity to capture all occupancy cost revenue for an entire portfolio. The occupier can potentially save costs, increase flexibility, reduce risk and more closely align its corporate real estate with its business strategy.

This paper proposes assessing the context within which integrated logistic support (ILS) can be implemented for whole life performance of building services systems.

The use of ILS within a through‐life business model (TLBM) is a better framework to achieve a well‐designed, constructed and managed product. However, for ILS to be implemented in a TLBM for building services systems, the practices, tools and techniques need certain contextual prerequisites tailored to suit the construction industry. These contextual prerequisites are discussed.

The case studies conducted reinforced the contextual importance of prime contracting, partnering and team collaboration for the application of ILS techniques. The lack of data was a major hindrance to the full realisation of ILS techniques within the case studies.

The paper concludes with the recognition of the value of these contextual prerequisites for the use of ILS techniques within the building industry.

The purpose of this paper is to examine different categories of building project procurement routes based on organisational, contractual, financial and technical issues.

The paper is based on review of literature and conditions of contracts. The UK construction industry serves as a general frame of reference. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors survey of Contracts in Use from 1985 to 2004 is used to probe the share and value of contracts along different procurement routes and across different conditions of contracts in the UK. The logic is that the value and the share of contracts will indicate the behaviour of different procurement routes in the UK construction market while the in‐depth analysis of conditions of contracts will show the gaps and relationships between the general definition/categorisation and contractual context (conditions of contracts) of each of the procurement routes.

The preliminary result of the analysis shows that traditional routes remain the main type of procurement route for the construction project industry sector, within which different management and incentivisation systems are applied for greater efficiency. The conditions of contracts in the UK support this assertion by aligning different procurement routes to different conditions of contracts and additionally specifying different forms of agreements, special provisions and incentivisation in order to increase performance, reduce risks and improve compensation methods.

The study can serve as a learning opportunity for construction project stakeholders internationally, and clients in particular, to differentiate between procurement routes, management‐oriented systems, relational contracting and incentivisation.

The research provides an original assessment of construction procurement which can be used as intervening tool in different levels of private and public procurement strategies.

Each year, the US defense industry outsources nearly $400 bn of domestic goods and services through competitive bids. These procurement activities are quite often complex and specialized in nature because of a highly regulated federal acquisition contracting environment. Ongoing calls to improve supplier management and drive innovation in the defense industry offers an opportunity to adopt Early Supplier Integration (ESI) initiatives that have proven successful in the private sector. This paper identifies critical ESI activities and acquisition practices that the defense industry should adopt to ensure enhanced effectiveness in new product development.

Leveraging a conceptual ESI model derived from the research, an in-depth case study of 12 product development projects from a major defense contractor was performed. In the context of project performance, critical ESI activities and moderating effects were assessed.

Three key ESI activities have the greatest impact on aggregate project performance: system design involvement, design adjustment opportunities and design for manufacturability/assembly/testability involvement. Use of formal supplier agreements also significantly impacts project performance during the development phase. In addition, project complexity and product team maturity were identified as environment moderators; higher complexity projects tended to negatively moderate the impact of ESI upon performance, and higher team maturity levels tended to positively moderate the impact of ESI upon performance.

The results provide a sound framework for empirical validation through future quantitative studies and defense industry analyses. In addition, insights and recommendations for interpretation and adaptation of federal acquisition regulations to allow increased utilization of ESI within the defense industry are substantiated.

Outsourcing has been used in Australia as part of the new public management agenda with the aim of increasing efficiency and decreasing costs. In the public health sector its use has been problematic and the purpose of this paper is to explore the largest Australian health contract at the time; investigating the reasons, the processes and the outcomes. Specifically, it investigates why the contract failed and the lessons to be learned from its subsequent awarding.

The paper uses a case study approach to investigate in depth the outsourcing decision.

Alongside savings in costs, changes to work practices and reduction in union power, it was found that the outsourcing contract produced problems with service quality, sharing of culture, relationships between contract and internal staff, and in managing the contract and staff; and reductions in trust and morale of both internal and contract staff. Inadequate contract specifications and subsequent under pricing was the cause of contract termination, poor quality, and difficulties in contract management.

The paper provides important lessons for decision makers when outsourcing in public health.

The paper investigates the largest outsourcing contract in public health in Australia in the 1990s. It investigates the failure of the initial contract and its subsequent awarding to another vendor. The case study approach provides an in‐depth analysis of this decision.

Because procurement policies are one of the means of redressing discrimination and economic exclusion, the US Government has targeted 23 per cent of its annual half-trillion dollar spend to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 5 per cent of its spend to women-owned businesses.

The research framework is informed by two theoretical paradigms, feminist empiricism and entrepreneurial feminism, and uses a secondary analysis of survey data of active federal contractors.

Empirical findings inform the extent to which certifications are associated with bid frequency and bid success. The results indicate that none of the various certifications increase either bid frequency or bid success. The findings are consistent with entrepreneurial feminism and call for federal accountability in contracting with women-owned supplier firms.

The findings are consistent with entrepreneurial feminism and call for federal accountability in contracting with women-owned supplier firms.

Recommendations include the need to review the impact of consolidated tenders on designated (as certified) SME vendors and to train procurement personnel about the economic contributions of women-owned businesses.

This research studies the efficacy of various certifications, with particular reference to that of women-owned, on the frequency with which SMEs bid on, and succeed in obtaining, US federal procurement contracts.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate Department of Defense (DoD)-backed innovation programs as a means of enhancing the adoption of new technology throughout the armed forces.

The distribution of 1.29 million defense contract awards over seven years was analyzed across a data set of more than 8,000 DoD-backed innovation program award recipients. Surveys and interviews of key stakeholder groups were conducted to contextualize the quantitative results and garner additional insights.

Nearly half of DoD innovation program participants achieve no meaningful growth in direct defense business after program completion, and most small, innovative companies that win follow-on defense contracts solely support their initial sponsor branch. Causes for these program failures include the fact that programs do not market participants’ capabilities to the defense community and do not track participant companies after program completion.

Because the DoD does not market the capabilities of its innovation program participants internally, prospective DoD customers conduct redundant market research or fail to modernize. Program participants become increasingly unwilling to invest in the DoD market long term after the programs fail to deliver their expected benefits.

Limited scholarship evaluates the efficacy of DoD-backed innovation programs as a means of enhancing force readiness. This research not only uses a vast data set to demonstrate the failures of these programs but also presents concrete recommendations for improving them – including establishing an “Innovators Database” to track program participants and an incentive to encourage contracting entities and contractors to engage with them.

The purpose of this paper is to outline findings from research into Integrated Offender Management (IOM), an example of multi-agency working between the police, probation and drug treatment services, and how this is expected to be affected by the “Transforming Rehabilitation” (TR) changes to the probation service being introduced by the Ministry of Justice.

The methodological approach was realistic evaluation. The findings of this paper draw upon semi-structured interviews undertaken with IOM staff, offenders and a small number of national IOM portfolio holders. Observations of the operation of IOM in the local site have also been used.

Three underpinning mechanisms within IOM were uncovered during the research, all of which are at risk from the TR changes.

IOM, as it currently operates, will be affected fundamentally by the TR changes, due to the disruption to stable multi-agency working. The research is limited by taking place during the planning and initial roll out of the TR changes; as a result interviewees were commenting on their expectations rather than their direct experience of the changes. However, their experience within IOM makes them well placed to assess the likely impact of TR.

As the TR changes are new, this paper is amongst only a small number seeking to assess their anticipated impact based on primary research.

Despite economic growth in the construction sector of the USA, profit margins are persistently low. An examination of collection practices of over 400 construction firms revealed a high number of firms with a collection period ratio above 30 days. This study aims to examines the variance between collection period ratio (days in accounts receivables, DAR) and days in accounts payables (DAP) and its correlation with profitability ratios [e.g. gross profit margin (GPM) and net profit margin (NPM)].

Descriptive statistics were used to observe trends over three years of financial reporting (2013 through 2016), while correlation statistics were used to understand relationship or association between the different financial ratios and the collection period variance (CPV). Respondent firms were stratified by the North American Industry Classification System, company type and revenue size.

Conventional theory holds that increasing financial expenses because of collections negatively impacts profitability. Therefore, the hypothesis of the study suggested a statistical correlation between the CPV and profitability measures. Results of the study, however, supported the null hypothesis. Reasons for the lack of correlation are considered as well as necessary follow-up studies before rejecting the hypothesis.

No such study was found specific to the construction industry, and as such, this study contributes to better understanding the implications of extensive collection periods. Further, this study contradicts assumptions about the behavior of the construction industry and the causal relationship between extensive collection periods and profitability.

This study aims to investigate supply network (SN) resilience capabilities across the organizational, supply chain (SC) and industry levels by drawing on the complex adaptive systems (CASs) theory and the social–ecological perspective of resilience. An empirically grounded framework operationalizes the concept of social–ecological resilience by expounding resilience capabilities across phases of the CAS adaptive cycle.

This research uses a qualitative multiple case study approach. It draws on the case of the Australian Defence Manufacturing SN (ADM SN) during COVID-19 disruptions. A total of 28 interviews with senior decision makers from 17 companies, complemented by 5 interviews with the Australian Defence SC organizations and secondary data analysis, support the findings.

Individual organizations’ SC visibility and flexibility enabled by effective risk management and collaboration enhance the ability of the SN to anticipate and prepare for disruption. At the same time, the strength of SC relationships reduces resilience. SN disruption response velocity is enabled by inventory redundancy, process flexibility at the organizational level and visibility and collaboration at the SC level. Institutional support at the national industry level, development of value-adding capabilities and manufacturing process flexibility at the organizational level enhances the SN’s ability to re-organize. The transition from hierarchical to decentralized collaborative governance enhances SN resilience.

From a practitioner’s perspective, the findings highlight the need to embrace a broader view of SC beyond immediate tiers. Decision-makers in multinational companies must recognize the long-term impact of their procurement decisions on the supplier ecosystem. Developing local supplier capabilities rather than relying on established global SCs will pay off with future resilience. It, however, demands substantial investment and radical changes across all SC tiers. The lesson for smaller firms is not to over-rely on the existing relationships with supply partners. Although trust-based relationships and collaboration are essential, over-commitment can be counterproductive during global disruptions. With a lack of visibility and control over the SC, operational flexibility is critical for small firms to adapt to shifts in supply and demand.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this empirical research is one of the first attempts to operationalize the social–ecological perspective of SN resilience. Evidence-based theoretical propositions contribute to the emerging conversation about the CAS nature of resilience by demonstrating the multi-level effects of resilience capabilities.