Public Procurement as Secondary Policy

Axioms and Perspectives

Max Rolfstam (Aalborg University, Denmark)

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Routledge
22 January 2026

Public administration; Purchasing & supply management; Public ownership & nationalisation

Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Public Management

The role of public procurement as a means to implement secondary policy has been increasingly emphasised in the last few decades. Besides being the primary sourcing instrument for public agencies, public procurement could be used to stimulate all kinds of new behaviour, including innovation, sustainability and energy efficiency. The evolution and diffusion of these principles and practices have been preceded by debates and discussions where certain axioms have played an important role to shape the agenda. Axioms are rarely debated, ‘self-evident’ and taken-for-granted assumptions about the real world. This book examines four axioms which have been used in the debates regarding using public procurement as an instrument for secondary policy implementation - the assumption of demand as the driver of innovation, the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the negligence of measuring, and the use of functional specification.

This book will be of interest to both academics and policymakers in the fields of public management, public administration and policy and related disciplines.

By: Max Rolfstam (Aalborg University Denmark)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781138219243
ISBN 10: 113821924X
Series: Routledge Critical Studies in Public Management
Pages: 146
Publication Date: 22 January 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Part 1: Introduction 1. Introduction Part 2: Theoretical and Conceptual Assertions 2. Public Procurement of Innovation, Theory and Policy Part 3: Application 3. Measuring Public Procurement of Innovation/ Research 4. Public Procurement as a Demand-Side Policy Instrument 5. Using Public Procurement to Stimulate SME Participation and Innovation 6. Competition versus Secondary Policy 7. Public Procurement of Intangible Outcomes Part 4: Conclusions 8. Concluding Remarks and Future Challenges

Max Rolfstam has over the years collaborated with researchers, policymakers and practitioners in many projects aiming at learning more about how public procurement can be used as a leaver for change and innovation. This is his second monograph on the topic.