Integrating the Service Paradigm into Procurement Practices in Ghana

This paper investigates how an integration of the concept of service into public procurement practices in universities in Ghana could lead to performance improvement. With samples drawn from procurement practitioners of public universities in Ghana, the study adopts a qualitative approach based on the constant comparative analysis of interview data; deriving categories from composite concepts. At the end of the analysis process three ‘categories’ emerged - procurement practice, resource integration and networking, and information support systems for procurement practitioners. A careful evaluation of these ‘categories’ show that whereas an integration of the concept of service dominant logic into procurement practices could improve procurement performance in public universities in Ghana, bottlenecks such as minimal resource integration and networking; inadequate information support systems; and prohibitions on customer-supplier relationship building affect performance improvement. These findings are significant because they contribute to the body of knowledge in a study area known for its paucity of empirical information.