Some SME business leaders experience preferential treatment from state or government support, but others encounter barriers. Table 6 includes a summary of the subthemes that emerged from the data that led to the identification of the third major theme. Participants discussed the idea of overcoming barriers nine times.
Table 6
References to Overcoming Barriers
Major Theme Subtheme Frequencies Theme 2: Overcoming barriers 9 Access 3 Bargaining power 5 Funding 1 Labels 2
The participants first identified the barriers they experienced. P1 discussed funding as a barrier; P2 discussed being identified as a SME, minority ownership, and being female as barriers; and P3 discussed connecting with clients as a barrier. These barrier discussions led to the identification of the following subthemes in overcoming those barriers: access, bargaining power, funding, and labels.
Access. All three participants agreed on the importance of gaining access to state contracts. P3 stated, “engaging in significant preplanning homework to learn how best to approach or create an opportunity” is necessary to gain access. The benefits of increased contracts awarded to small businesses include heightened efficiency, improved access to market knowledge, and a more substantial number of innovative solutions (Hansen, Langevang, Rutashobya, & Urassa, 2018). Access can pose an issue for business leaders both externally and internally.
SMEs’ business leaders can circumvent external and internal access issues by educating themselves on the processes and requirements of public procurement and the specific client organization. SME business leaders access to obtaining contracts,
according to Hansen et al. (2018), is blocked by the inability to network correctly. Continued Bouhdary, business networking increased collaboration opportunities. The three participants emphasized the importance of collaboration and building relationships several times throughout the interviews.
Bargaining power. The three participants confirmed having limited to no bargaining power. Bargaining power, according to P1, is “usually held by the agency unless there is something proprietary our business owns.” Additionally, P1 stated
“however, in cases where the government agency requests a voluntary reduction of price, we now have the option to adjust or decline.” P2 stated, “The reputation we have built eliminates the need to negotiate or haggle over pricing.”
P2 continued, “Understanding pricing in the marketplace is a necessity when presenting services. Clients procure our company’s services already understanding the value.” Bargaining power, P3 added, is “achieved through relationships.” Concurred Mijid (2017) partnerships were indispensable to public procurement.
Funding. P1 confirmed the company has “partnered with vendors, manufacturers, or service providers to obtain 30 to 60-day lines of credit or opted to pay half the cost upfront and the other half later.” According to Song, Yu, and Lu (2018), SMEs business leaders who can build long-term relationships with their banks can significantly alleviate financial difficulties. While SME business leaders want to have access to state contracts and receive the award, business leaders must recognize they may need to decline some offers if the contract is not feasible.
P3 stated the importance of “ensuring the company has the resources to fulfill contract obligations.” To reduce costs and increase cost-effectiveness in public
procurement, business leaders need to understand transactional costs (Jasko et al., 2015; Patrucco et al., 2017). The costs related to fulfilling a contract may be more than the SME can handle. P3 declines a contract if the company does not have the resources to complete the work accurately. P1 does not bid on a contract if the expenses outweigh the potential profit.
Labels. To bypass labels such as minority business owner or women-owned or
small business, P2 noted the importance of gaining “expertise” and showing “a proven track record” of the business’ success. P2 also advised, “we educate clients that size does not matter because we are able to compete against some of the larger firms.” Business success and innovation originate when diversity and knowledge sharing are present (Chen, Wang, & Wang, 2018). According to Bressler et al. (2014), women, minority, military veteran, and disabled business owners are increasing the number of small businesses opened. The three participants were minority owners, two female and one male.
P1 found it beneficial to capitalize on the labels to overcome the barrier.
Registration with the different agencies exclusive to small businesses, minorities, women, veterans, and the disabled creates an opportunity to obtain more contracts and increase networking. According to P1, registration “opens more doors.” P1 registered with several agencies including SBA, US Business Leadership Network (USBLN), state of Florida, National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), and others. According to
Gibbons (2015), small business owners collaborating with governmental programs may experience feelings of a more productive purpose in their roles. P1 confirmed the company has an increased purpose, splitting into two divisions to handle the influx of local, state, and federal contracts.
Findings related to the conceptual framework. The findings noted in Theme 2 aligned with the findings of Rehmatulla and Smith (2015) that the first step in
overcoming challenges in the principal-agent relationship is to identify the situations where a problem could occur and determine resolutions in alignment with both parties. One of the objectives of the principal-agent model was to enhance the understanding of procurement by breaking down the barriers between legal policies (Yukins, 2010). SMEs’ business leaders encounter with barriers can lead to negative business
performance and subsequently lost opportunities to obtain state contracts through public procurement.
Wang (2017) found training and skills development was a necessity to a successful principal-agent relationship, and thus overcoming barriers. Both buyers and suppliers need training and reciprocity. Williams (2016) stated small business
representatives and government officials need more training and access to information. Access for SME business leaders has improved because of the requirements of federal and state laws ensuring SMEs receive a percentage of public procurement contracts. Quality products and services and word of mouth improved access for the three
participants. The annual public procurement contract goals for SMEs at the federal and state level are 23% and 24% respectively (Procurement of Personal Property and
Services, 2017; Shoraka, 2015). Williams added the government increased funding to SMEs with tax dollars available through contracting opportunities.
The principal-agent theory includes the premise that because the principal made the contract, bargaining power is removed (Turkina, 2018) from the agent. The three participants’ responses aligned with the premise of the principal-agent theory, noting minimal to no bargaining power. However, SME business leaders have the power to determine whether or not they will accept a contract if not mutually beneficial. The principal-agent theory helps with limiting and determining power in organizations and identifying contractual expectations and performance measures (Williamson, 2018). The findings of the study highlight areas of improvement between buyers and suppliers such as the barriers mentioned above the study participants experienced. Contract transparency and equal access help to advance the principal-agent dynamic.