IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i13p7220-d583718.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Examining the Relationship between the Economic Performance of Technology-Based Small Suppliers and Socially Sustainable Procurement

Author

Listed:
  • Youngbok Ryu

    (College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA)

  • Toshiyuki Sueyoshi

    (Department of Management, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
    Tokyo Tech World Research Hub Initiative, Tokyo Institute of Technology, School of Environment and Society, 3-3-6 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0023, Japan)

Abstract

Sustainable public procurement plays an important role in addressing not only environmental but also economic and social issues through government acquisitions from technology-based small suppliers. In this context, the objective of this study is to better understand the holistic public procurement process by assessing the operational efficiency of technology-based small suppliers and associating the economic aspect of public procurement with the social aspect, such as women-owned businesses. To this end, we analyzed U.S. Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research grantees by combining network data envelopment analysis with bootstrap truncated regression analysis. Drawing on the analysis results, we found that (1) there is heterogeneity in the performance of research and development, network building, and commercialization sub-processes, and (2) there is a positive relationship between the overall performance and women-owned small suppliers who excel particularly in network building. The former implies that small suppliers may have different expertise in the chain of public procurement; the latter suggests that woman entrepreneurs with a business network may be able to outperform their counterparts in the public procurement market.

Suggested Citation

  • Youngbok Ryu & Toshiyuki Sueyoshi, 2021. "Examining the Relationship between the Economic Performance of Technology-Based Small Suppliers and Socially Sustainable Procurement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-23, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:13:p:7220-:d:583718
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7220/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7220/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Albert N. Link & John T. Scott, 2013. "Governments as entrepreneur: Evaluating the commercialization success of SBIR projects," Chapters, in: Public Support of Innovation in Entrepreneurial Firms, chapter 2, pages 25-38, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Alessandro Manello & Maurizio Cisi & Francesco Devicienti & Davide Vannoni, 2020. "Networking: a business for women," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 329-348, August.
    3. Albert N. Link & John T. Scott, 2013. "Private Investor Participation and Commercialization Rates for Government-sponsored Research and Development: Would a Prediction Market Improve the Performance of the SBIR Programme?," Chapters, in: Public Support of Innovation in Entrepreneurial Firms, chapter 11, pages 157-174, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Major Clark III, J.D. & Chad Moutray, Ph.D. & chad.moutray@sba.gov & major.clark@sba.gov, 2004. "The Future of Small Businesses in the U.S. Federal Government Marketplace," The Office of Advocacy Small Business Working Papers 04mccm, U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy.
    5. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Issues in Assessing the Contribution of Research and Development to Productivity Growth," NBER Chapters, in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 17-45, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Helen Walker & Joe Miemczyk & Thomas Johnsen & Robert Spencer, 2012. "Sustainable procurement: Past, present and future," Post-Print hal-00956954, HAL.
    7. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Yuan, Yan, 2017. "Social sustainability measured by intermediate approach for DEA environmental assessment: Chinese regional planning for economic development and pollution prevention," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 154-166.
    8. Choi, Jeongho & Yeniyurt, Sengun, 2015. "Contingency distance factors and international research and development (R&D), marketing, and manufacturing alliance formations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 1061-1071.
    9. Albert N. Link & John T. Scott, 2018. "Propensity to Patent and Firm Size for Small R&D-Intensive Firms," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 52(4), pages 561-587, June.
    10. Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Youngbok Ryu & Ji-Young Yun, 2021. "COVID-19 Response and Prospects of Clean/Sustainable Energy Transition in Industrial Nations: New Environmental Assessment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-30, February.
    11. Gilsing, Victor & Nooteboom, Bart & Vanhaverbeke, Wim & Duysters, Geert & van den Oord, Ad, 2008. "Network embeddedness and the exploration of novel technologies: Technological distance, betweenness centrality and density," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 1717-1731, December.
    12. Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Youngbok Ryu, 2020. "Performance Assessment of the Semiconductor Industry: Measured by DEA Environmental Assessment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-24, November.
    13. Hicks, Diana & Hegde, Deepak, 2005. "Highly innovative small firms in the markets for technology," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 703-716, June.
    14. Fatima Hafsa & Nicole Darnall & Stuart Bretschneider, 2021. "Estimating the True Size of Public Procurement to Assess Sustainability Impact," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, January.
    15. Lee, Jiyoung & Kim, Chulyeon & Choi, Gyunghyun, 2019. "Exploring data envelopment analysis for measuring collaborated innovation efficiency of small and medium-sized enterprises in Korea," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 278(2), pages 533-545.
    16. Meuleman, Miguel & De Maeseneire, Wouter, 2012. "Do R&D subsidies affect SMEs’ access to external financing?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 580-591.
    17. Wang, Qunwei & Hang, Ye & Sun, Licheng & Zhao, Zengyao, 2016. "Two-stage innovation efficiency of new energy enterprises in China: A non-radial DEA approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 254-261.
    18. Alvarez, Roberto & Crespi, Gustavo, 2003. "Determinants of Technical Efficiency in Small Firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 233-244, May.
    19. Min-Chun Yu & Min-Hong Su, 2017. "Using Fuzzy DEA for Green Suppliers Selection Considering Carbon Footprints," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-11, March.
    20. Justin M. Stritch & Stuart Bretschneider & Nicole Darnall & Lily Hsueh & Yifan Chen, 2020. "Sustainability Policy Objectives, Centralized Decision Making, and Efficiency in Public Procurement Processes in U.S. Local Governments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-17, August.
    21. Jianhong Xue & Peter G. Klein, 2010. "Regional determinants of technology entrepreneurship," International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 1(3), pages 291-308.
    22. Amol M. Joshi & Todd M. Inouye & Jeffrey A. Robinson, 2018. "How does agency workforce diversity influence Federal R&D funding of minority and women technology entrepreneurs? An analysis of the SBIR and STTR programs, 2001–2011," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 499-519, March.
    23. Adams, Walter & Adams, William James, 1972. "The Military-Industrial Complex: A Market Structure Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(2), pages 279-287, May.
    24. Jaffe, Adam B, 1989. "Real Effects of Academic Research," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(5), pages 957-970, December.
    25. Man, Thomas W. Y. & Lau, Theresa & Chan, K. F., 2002. "The competitiveness of small and medium enterprises: A conceptualization with focus on entrepreneurial competencies," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 123-142, March.
    26. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Yuan, Yan & Goto, Mika, 2017. "A literature study for DEA applied to energy and environment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 104-124.
    27. Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Mika Goto, 2020. "Performance Assessment of Japanese Electric Power Industry: DEA Measurement with Future Impreciseness," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, January.
    28. Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Mika Goto, 2021. "Performance Assessment of Japanese Electricity and Gas Companies during 2002–2018: Three DEA Approaches," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, March.
    29. Simar, Leopold & Wilson, Paul W., 2007. "Estimation and inference in two-stage, semi-parametric models of production processes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 31-64, January.
    30. Annamaria Conti & Jerry Thursby & Marie Thursby, 2013. "Patents as Signals for Startup Financing," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 592-622, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Ryu, Youngbok, 2022. "Performance assessment on technology transition from small businesses to the U.S. Department of Defense," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    2. Katerina Fotova Čiković & Ivana Martinčević & Joško Lozić, 2022. "Application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in the Selection of Sustainable Suppliers: A Review and Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-30, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Youngbok Ryu, 2021. "Environmental Assessment and Sustainable Development in the United States," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-23, February.
    2. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Ryu, Youngbok, 2022. "Performance assessment on technology transition from small businesses to the U.S. Department of Defense," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    3. Rakas, Marija & Hain, Daniel S., 2019. "The state of innovation system research: What happens beneath the surface?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    4. David B. Audretsch & Dennis P. Leyden & Albert N. Link, 2013. "Universities as research partners in publicly supported entrepreneurial firms," Chapters, in: Public Support of Innovation in Entrepreneurial Firms, chapter 12, pages 175-192, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Bettina Becker, 2015. "Public R&D Policies And Private R&D Investment: A Survey Of The Empirical Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5), pages 917-942, December.
    6. Haifeng Qian & Kingsley Haynes, 2014. "Beyond innovation: the Small Business Innovation Research program as entrepreneurship policy," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 524-543, August.
    7. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Goto, Mika & Wang, Derek, 2017. "Malmquist index measurement for sustainability enhancement in Chinese municipalities and provinces," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 554-571.
    8. Bettina Becker, 2013. "The Determinants of R&D Investment: A Survey of the Empirical Research," Discussion Paper Series 2013_09, Department of Economics, Loughborough University, revised Sep 2013.
    9. Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Youngbok Ryu & Mika Goto, 2020. "Operational Performance of Electric Power Firms: Comparison between Japan and South Korea by Non-Radial Measures," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-23, August.
    10. David B. Audretsch & Dennis P. Leyden & Albert N. Link, 2013. "Regional Appropriation of University-Based Knowledge and Technology for Economic Development," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 27(1), pages 56-61, February.
    11. Albert N. Link & John T. Scott, 2013. "The exploitation of publicly funded technology," Chapters, in: Public Support of Innovation in Entrepreneurial Firms, chapter 8, pages 127-135, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Albert N. Link & John T. Scott, 2013. "Employment growth from public support of innovation in small firms," Chapters, in: Public Support of Innovation in Entrepreneurial Firms, chapter 3, pages 41-64, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Carlino, Gerald & Kerr, William R., 2015. "Agglomeration and Innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 349-404, Elsevier.
    14. Beck, Mathias & Junge, Martin & Kaiser, Ulrich, 2017. "Public Funding and Corporate Innovation," IZA Discussion Papers 11196, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. George A Shinkle & Jo-Ann Suchard, 2019. "Innovation in newly public firms: The influence of government grants, venture capital, and private equity," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 44(2), pages 248-281, May.
    16. Lorenzo Cassi & Anne Plunket, 2014. "Proximity, network formation and inventive performance: in search of the proximity paradox," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 53(2), pages 395-422, September.
    17. Federico Caviggioli & Alessandra Colombelli & Antonio De Marco & Giuseppe Scellato & Elisa Ughetto, 2023. "Co-evolution patterns of university patenting and technological specialization in European regions," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 216-239, February.
    18. Emanuele Giovannetti & Claudio Piga, 2023. "The multifaceted nature of cooperation for innovation, ICT and innovative outcomes: evidence from UK Microdata," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(3), pages 639-666, September.
    19. Sergey Lychagin & Joris Pinkse & Margaret E. Slade & John Van Reenen, 2016. "Spillovers in Space: Does Geography Matter?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 295-335, June.
    20. Stuart D. Allen & Stephen K. Layson & Albert N. Link, 2013. "Public gains from entrepreneurial research: Inferences about the economic value of public support of the Small Business Innovation Research program," Chapters, in: Public Support of Innovation in Entrepreneurial Firms, chapter 6, pages 105-112, Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:13:p:7220-:d:583718. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.