Case Studies
Jul 27, 2018

Competitive Dialogue in Norwegian Public Infrastructure Projects

Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 144, Issue 10

Abstract

Competitive dialogue (CD) is a relatively new procurement procedure introduced in 2004 by the European Parliament for particularly complex contracts. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) has limited experience with the procedure, but they are planning to use it in several future projects. Limited research was found concerning the practical issues of CD. This paper explores the experiences of Norwegian practitioners to identify such issues and suggests measures for the success of future projects using the procedure. In addition to a literature study, a document study and 22 semistructured in-depth interviews with key informants from six cases selected from the Norwegian public infrastructure projects were carried out. Both the client and the suppliers value the potential of CD. However, several challenges were identified, such as lack of practical experience with CD, ethical challenges, determining the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criteria, evaluation based on the MEAT criteria, and varying market interest. This paper contributes to construction engineering and management practice to increase the understanding of CD by suggesting what kinds of measures ought to be taken for the success of future projects using the procedure.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Data Availability Statement

Data generated or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author by request. Information about the Journal’s data sharing policy can be found here: http://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%29CO.1943-7862.0001263.

References

Aapaoja, A., M. Herrala, A. Pekuri, and H. Haapasalo. 2013. “The characteristics of and cornerstones for creating integrated teams.” Int. J. Managing Projects Bus. 6 (4): 695–713. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-09-2012-0056.
Albano, G. L., and M. Sparro. 2010. “Flexible strategies for centralized public procurement.” Rev. Econ. Inst. 1 (2): 1–32. https://doi.org/10.5202/rei.v1i2.4.
Arrowsmith, S., and S. Treumer. 2012. Competitive dialogue in EU procurement. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Blumberg, B. F., D. R. Cooper, and P. S. Schindler. 2014. Business research methods. London: McGraw-Hill.
Bougrain, F. 2012. “Energy performance and public private partnership.” Built Environ. Project Asset Manage. 2 (1): 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1108/20441241211235044.
Burnett, M. 2009. “Using competitive dialogue in EU public procurement—Early trends and future developments.” Eipascope 2: 17–30.
Chen, L., and K. Manley. 2014. “Validation of an instrument to measure governance and performance on collaborative infrastructure projects.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 140 (5): 04014006. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000834.
Creswell, J. W. 2013. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Dorn, N., M. Levi, and S. White. 2008. “Do European procurement rules generate or prevent crime?” J. Financial Crime 15 (3): 243–260. https://doi.org/10.1108/13590790810882847.
Edler, J., and L. Georghiou. 2007. “Public procurement and innovation—Resurrecting the demand side.” Res. Policy 36 (7): 949–963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2007.03.003.
Ellis, D. 1993. “Modeling the information-seeking patterns of academic researchers: A grounded theory approach.” Lib. Q. 63 (4): 469–486. https://doi.org/10.1086/602622.
Eriksson, P. E., and M. Westerberg. 2011. “Effects of cooperative procurement procedures on construction project performance: A conceptual framework.” Int. J. Project Manage. 29 (2): 197–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2010.01.003.
Essig, M., and A. Batran. 2005. “Public–private partnership—Development of long-term relationships in public procurement in Germany.” J. Purchasing Supply Manage. 11 (5–6): 221–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2006.01.001.
European Commission Public Procurement Policy. 2006. Explanatory note-competitive dialogue-classic directive. Brussels, Belgium: Directorate General Internal Market and Services: Public Procurement Policy.
European Parliament CotEU. 2014. “Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC text with EEA relevance.” Off. J. Eur. Union 96 (309): 29.
Haugbølle, K., D. Pihl, and S. C. Gottlieb. 2015. Competitive dialogue: Driving innovation through procurement? Proc. Econ. Finance 21: 555–562. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00212-9.
Hoezen, M., H. Voordijk, and G. Dewulf. 2012. “Contracting dynamics in the competitive dialogue procedure.” Built Environ. Project Asset Manage. 2 (1): 6–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/20441241211235017.
Hoezen, M., H. Voordijk., and G. Dewulf. 2014. “Procuring complex projects using the competitive dialogue.” Int. J. Project Org. Manage. 6 (4): 319–335.
Hood, J., and T. Smith. 2013. “Perceptions of quantifiable benefits of local authority risk management.” Int. J. Publ. Sect. Manage. 26 (4): 309–319. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-01-2012-0016.
Kautsch, M., M. Lichoń, and G. Whyles. 2015. “Tools of innovative public procurement in health care in Poland.” Innovation 28 (3): 312–323.
Kent, D. C., and B. Becerik-Gerber. 2010. “Understanding construction industry experience and attitudes toward integrated project delivery.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 136 (8): 815–825. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000188.
Korthals Altes, W. K., and T. Taşan-Kok. 2010. “The impact of European public contract law on networks of governance: A relational approach.” Eur. Plann. Stud. 18 (6): 971–988. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654311003701522.
Lahdenperä, P. 2009. Project alliance: The competitive single target-cost approach. Vuorimiehentie, Finland: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
Lenferink, S., J. Arts, T. Tillema, M. Vanvalkenburg, and R. Nijsten. 2012. “Early contractor involvement in dutch infrastructure development: Initial experiences with parallel procedures for planning and procurement.” J. Publ. Procurement 12 (1): 4–42. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOPP-12-01-2012-B001.
Lenferink, S., T. Tillema, and J. Arts. 2013. “Public-private interaction in contracting: Governance strategies in the competitive dialogue of Dutch infrastructure projects.” Pub. Admin. 91 (4): 928–946. https://doi.org/10.1111/padm.12033.
Li, H., D. Arditi, and Z. Wang. 2013. “Factors that affect transaction costs in construction projects.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 139 (1): 60–68. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000573.
Love Peter, E. D., F. Ackermann, P. Teo, and J. Morrison. 2015. “From individual to collective learning: A conceptual learning framework for enacting rework prevention.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 141 (11): 05015009. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001013.
Nagelkerke, M., M. Van Rijn, G. Huith, and M. Van Valkenburg. 2008. “Competitive dialogue: Abyss or opportunity?” In Proc., 3rd Int. Public Procurement Conf., 275–294. Amsterdam, Netherlands.
O’brien, G., and A. Hope. 2010. “Localism and energy: Negotiating approaches to embedding resilience in energy systems.” Energy Policy 38 (12): 7550–7558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2010.03.033.
Petersen, O. H. 2010. “Emerging meta-governance as a regulation framework for public-private partnerships: An examination of the European Union’s approach.” Int. Publ. Manage. Rev. 11 (3): 1–21.
Plane, C. V., and A. N. Green. 2012. “Buyersupplier collaboration: The aim of FM procurement?” Facilities 30 (3–4): 152–163. https://doi.org/10.1108/02632771211202851.
Sebastian, R., C. Claeson-Jonsson, and R. Di Giulio. 2013. “Performance-based procurement for low-disturbance bridge construction projects.” Constr. Innov. 13 (4): 394–409. https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-06-2012-0033.
Siemonsma, H., W. Van Nus, and P. Uyttendaele. 2012. “Awarding of Port PPP contracts: The added value of a competitive dialogue procedure.” Flagship J. Int. Shipping Port Res. 39 (1): 63–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/03088839.2011.642314.
Soliño, A. S., and P. Gago De Santos. 2010. “Transaction costs in transport public–private partnerships: Comparing procurement procedures.” Transp. Rev. 30 (3): 389–406. https://doi.org/10.1080/01441640903037941.
Sundaraj, G., and D. Eaton. 2013. “Quantifying robustness in PFIs.” J. Financial Manage. Property Constr. 18 (1): 26–52. https://doi.org/10.1108/13664381311305069.
Telles, P., and L. Butler. 2014. “Public procurement award procedures in Directive 2014/24/EU.” Novelties in the 2014 directive on public procurement. Denmark: Djof Publishing.
Uttam, K., and C. Le Lann Roos. 2014. “Competitive dialogue procedure for sustainable public procurement.” J. Cleaner Prod. 86: 403–416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.08.031.
Uyarra, E., and K. Flanagan. 2010. “Understanding the innovation impacts of public procurement.” Eur. Plann. Stud. 18 (1): 123–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654310903343567.
Van Leeuwen, M. 2011. “Using best value PiPS procurement in Europe, need for compromise?” J. Adv. Perform. Inf. Value 3 (1): 56–71.
Williamson, O. 1985. The economic institutions of capitalism: Firms, markets, relational contracting. New York: Free Press.
Wondimu, P. A., E. Hailemichael, A. Hosseini, J. Lohne, O. Torp, and O. Lædre. 2016. “Success factors for early contractor involvement (ECI) in public infrastructure projects.” In SEB16 build green and renovate deep. Helsinki: Elsevier’s Energy Procedia.
Wondimu, P. A., J. Lohne, and O. Lædre. 2017a. “Motives for the use of competitive dialogue.” In Vol. 2 of Proc., 25th Annual Conf. of the Int. Group for Lean Construction. edited by K. Walsh, R. Sacks, and I. Brilakis, 53–60. Heraklion, Greece.
Wondimu, P. A., F. Svalestuen, E. Hailemichael, A. Hosseini, J. Lohne, and O. Lædre. 2017b. “Implementation of early contractor involvement (ECI) in Norwegian bridge projects procurement.” Home of construction researchers on economics and organisation in the Nordic Region. Gøteborg, Sweden: Polyteknisk Forlag.
Yin, R. K. 2014. Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 144Issue 10October 2018

History

Received: Dec 7, 2017
Accepted: Mar 21, 2018
Published online: Jul 27, 2018
Published in print: Oct 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Dec 27, 2018

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Paulos Abebe Wondimu [email protected]
Ph.D. Candidate, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway; Senior Engineer, Dept. of Road and Transport, Norwegian Public Roads Administration, 6404 Molde, Norway (corresponding author). Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Jardar Lohne [email protected]
Research Scientist, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway. Email: [email protected]
Ola Lædre, Ph.D. [email protected]
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway. Email: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share