Antecedents of Supplier Selection Decisions in the Public Sector in Nigeria

This paper develops and tests a conceptual model of supplier selection decisions in the public sector. The study seeks to determine the relative importance of a broad range of non-economic variables in explaining supplier selection decisions during strategic organizational purchases. Data were collected from a national sample of 341 senior staff and top management team (TMT) members in 40 public sector organizations in Nigeria using structured questionnaires. Results of structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis shows that government policy requirements, social ties of organizational actors, party politics, decision-makers’ experience, and the perception of instrumental ethical work climates are, respectively, the most important determinants of strategic supplier selection decisions, followed in descending order of importance by: the perception of rules ethical work climates, self-enhancement personal values, CEOs’ structural position, self-transcendent personal values and the perception of time pressure. Findings also indicate that the choice of a supplier per se is not an important determinant of organizational performance.