The root causes of contract administration problems

To help procurement professionals identify the root causes of contract administration problems, we present an organizational behavior problem solving conceptual framework which consists of a comprehensive exposition of potential personal (e.g., personality) and environmental (e.g., technology) causes of behavior. We then illustrate how the causal factors from the framework can be mapped to the procurement process and its problems. We expect that procurement professionals will be able to use the framework to identify root causes in post-mortem analyses of contracts or elsewhere in the procurement process to mitigate risks. We also expect that management will use the framework to address the organizational behavior root causes of problems, thereby improving the systems and processes it controls or influences and, in turn, minimizing or eliminating contract administration risks. Future research can evaluate the usefulness of the framework.