A detailed analysis of the relationship between contract administration problems and contract types

Guided by a conceptual model developed by Davison and Wright (2004), Davison and Sebastian (2009) surveyed National Institute of Government Purchasing (NIGP) and Institute of Supply Management (ISM) members to determine empirically which types of contract administration problems (e.g., delays) were perceived as most likely for seven types of contracts (e.g., small supplies and purchases). The mean ratings of the perceived occurrence of the ten problems for each contract problem were reported. The types of contract that had the greatest overall perceived occurrence of problems across all problem types and the types of problem that were perceived to be the most common across all contract types were also reported. This research extends these analyses by examining specifically which types of contract administration problems were perceived to be most common for each of the seven contract types and by examining which contract types were perceived to be most affected by the ten contract administration problems. The implications of the research results for procurement professionals and the limitations of the research are discussed.