literature review on project procurement

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Public procurement and innovation: a systematic literature review

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Oishee Kundu, Andrew D James, John Rigby, Public procurement and innovation: a systematic literature review, Science and Public Policy , Volume 47, Issue 4, August 2020, Pages 490–502, https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scaa029

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Public procurement and innovation is the subject of a growing body of literature. This article systematically reviews the existing research, documenting its evolution and highlighting dominant and overlooked themes. We find a dramatic increase in the number of journal publications on this topic since 2008, the existence of thematic communities within the literature, and a focus on empirical work. We analysed keywords and abstracts to identify the broad boundaries of research on public procurement and innovation as well as particular areas of focus in the literature. We found a variety of terms used to describe the application of public procurement as an innovation policy tool and a variety of thematic interests and theoretical foundations. We argue that this makes it challenging to consolidate the research on the topic. From a policy perspective, the geographical context of research is overwhelmingly concentrated in OECD and EU countries.

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Public procurement from the triple bottom line lens: the identification of sustainability criteria from the international literature review

• Published: 22 May 2024

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• André Luiz Trajano dos Santos   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6800-3051 1 &
• Augusto da Cunha Reis 1  

The implementation of Sustainable Public Procurement in the light of the criteria triple bottom line (TBL) is still little explored by researchers on this theme. This review article aims to analyze the integration of the TBL dimensions in public procurement practices in the international literature. This systematic literature review was guided by the PRISMA Protocol, covering n  = 105 articles indexed to the scientific databases Scopus and Web of Science, which observe sustainability criteria in public procurement in its scope from 2000 to 2021. Among the reviewed studies, it was identified that only 21.90% ( n  = 23) presented an integrated approach to the three dimensions of TBL sustainability in its content. In comparison, 35.24% ( n  = 37) of the studies presented an economic approach, 40.95% ( n  = 43) a social approach and in greater proportion, 86.67% ( n  = 91) environmental approach. It identified 26 sustainability criteria in public procurement present in the international literature, of which the eco-labeling ( n  = 50) stands out in the environmental aspect. In the economic dimension, the life cycle cost and the development of the local economy ( n  = 14) and the defense and job creation ( n  = 20) stand out in the social aspect. Thus, in a perspective that public managers should prioritize increasing awareness of their ability to influence the ecosystem of sustainable public procurement to integrate actions focused on the three dimensions of sustainability, this article is the first to systematically review the integration of environmental, economic, and social dimensions proposed by the triple bottom line of sustainability with a focus on public procurement.

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dos Santos, A.L.T., da Cunha Reis, A. Public procurement from the triple bottom line lens: the identification of sustainability criteria from the international literature review. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04343-1

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