National models of public (e)-procurement in Europe

Public Procurement of goods and services is a strategic activity for Governments for at least three reasons: a) it has a relevant economic impact b) it is relevant for Governments’ public services and c) it affects both Nations’ competitiveness and citizens’ welfare. Moreover, observing the EU context other two reasons contribute to its relevancy: d) the juridical panorama connected to it has strongly evolved in the last ten years e) at a central national level, there exist many institutional models and e-procurement solutions none of which has yet emerged as the optimal one. European agreements on public tendering and procurement together with the existing central public procurement models and related ICT applications aim to create a common framework based on social goals and key principles (e.g. Maastricht Treaty). First the paper will analyse and review the quite unexplored literature concerning the public procurement evolution in the last decade, expounding the benefits of innovative solutions through procurement systems, mostly connected with ICT implementation, in order to understand if and why the role of central public (e) procurement should be developed. Secondly, in order to understand how Public Procurement should be developed, the paper will investigate EU national models adopting a Central Procurement Department aiming to purchase goods and services for the public bodies. Finally, the paper will identify the strategic and organizational specificities of the Italian model, discussing the role of e-procurement platforms inside the whole system, both under an organizational and economic point of view.