Biases in the Purchasing Process

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Biases in the Purchasing Process

A descriptive survey

MSc Technology and Operations Management

University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business

Thursday, 23 January 2014

Writer: J.D.H. de Waal

Supervisor: dr. W.M.C. van Wezel

Co-assessor: dr. J. Veldman

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Abstract

This paper brings together purchasing theory and organisational behaviour by identifying the extent to which biases are present in the purchasing process. By doing so this paper increases the value of theory through the closer resemblance to practice. Nine bias categories are used to cluster the results of the descriptive survey, held amongst five purchasers located in a semi-secluded part of the Netherlands. The results show that biases are present in the purchasing process, but with varying intensity. It is concluded that following a clear purchasing process and creating bias awareness amongst purchasers, is the best approach to reducing bias intensity within a purchasing process.

Keywords: organisational behaviour, purchasing, process, biases, construction industry,

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Acknowledgment

I am particularly grateful to Dr. W.M.C. van Wezel for being my supervisor during the writing of this paper. Dr. W.M.C. van Wezel helped me tremendously in the development of ideas and motivated to explore new possibilities. I would also like to thank Dr. J. Veldman for being my second supervisor. Even though we have not met on many occasions he was a tremendous help in the finalizing of this paper.

I would also like to thank H.J.D.T. van der Meer, M. Blok, E.G. van Lent and A.F.M. Mud for standing by me and being supportive during the finalizing of my study. They were a tremendous support during this period and were without a doubt part of this success.

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank my family, and specifically my parents. It is more than fitting to give them the final acknowledgement as they supported me over the last six and half years that have led to this final paper.

Thursday, 23 January 2014

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1. Introduction

Since the publication of the article ‘Purchasing Must become Supply Management’ written by Kraljic (1983) a new specialty was born. Since then, the importance of supply management and purchasing has increased as organisations have come to spend between 50 and 80 percent of their total cost on procurements (Gelderman & van Weele, 2005; Dubois and Pederson, 2002; Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies, 1998). An equal trend in purchased services can be seen, rising from 23 percent of total purchases in 1993 to 40 percent in 1994 (Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies, 1998).

Parallel to the growing importance of purchasing the field of behavioural operations developed growing importance. Behavioural factors have been recognised in problems such as the bullwhip effect (Su, 2007) or the newsvendor problem (Schweitzer and Cachon, 2000; Bolton and Katok, 2008). Whilst the field of purchasing and behavioural operations have been combined, an exploration into the behavioural aspects of the purchasing process has not been undertaken. Though its importance has been recognised in the effectiveness and competitiveness of organisations (Dumas et al., 2013).

This paper fills the gap between purchasing theory and organisational behaviour; combining theory on the purchasing processes and decision making, and identifying the resulting biases. A bias is defined and explained in this paper as a deviation from normative decision theory (Loch and Wu, 2007). With this framework the paper identifies biases that are a result of developed organisational knowledge, organisational processes, and heuristics and answers the question ‘To what extent are biases present in the purchasing process?’. In doing so, this paper aims to add to current purchasing literature and increases the value of literature to practitioners in both small and large organisations.

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2. Theoretical Framework

Although in practice operations management and organisational behaviour are intertwined, the scientific fields are progressing independently (Loch and Wu, 2007). This chapter elaborates on biases in the fields of organisational behaviour and purchasing theory described in operations management. Prior to identifying biases, a distinction of possible origins must be made due to the possibly different effects it can have on bias. The origin of bias lies at the decision making process and the knowledge on which decisions are based.

2.1 Decision making

The field of decision making is vast and covers many areas from how we make decisions (Costantino et al, 2009; Loch and Wu, 2007; Bingham and Eisenhardt, 2011), to why we make decisions (Graebner, 2004; Vermeulen and Barkema, 2001). This paper covers a respectively small part of the theoretical field to identify what type of decisions will be studied.

Costantino et al. (2009) differentiate between two decisions types when making a purchasing decision; qualitative and quantitative. Biases are present in both qualitative and quantitative decisions making and are therefore both considered in this paper. In practice data about a vendor can be neglected due to biases, in both a qualitative and quantitative analysis.

When making decisions, two types of processes can be identified; intuition and reasoning (Loch and Wu, 2007). Kahneman and Frederick (2002) refer to this as system 1 (intuitive) and system 2 (reflective) process. Reasoning is a slow, controlled, effortful, rule governed process covering each alternative with a structured process. Intuition is the opposite, it is fast, automatic, effortless, and emotional. Table 2.1.1 contains the full list of characteristics for both intuition and reasoning. When using the reasoning approach a purchaser follows the clear phases outlined in a purchasing process.

Table 2.1.1 - Types of thinking, based on Loch and Wu (2007) and Kahneman and Frederick (2002)

Intuition (System 1) Reasoning (System 2) Process

Characteristics

Fast, parallel, automatic, effortless, associative, slow-learning, skilled action, and emotional

Slow, serial, controlled, effortful, rule-governed, flexible, self-aware, deductive and neutral

Content of Which Processes act

Affective, causal propensities, concrete, specific prototypes

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11 Due to the hyper-rationality assumption which states that decision making requires ‘unlimited cognition and computation capability to identify all the alternatives, determine all eventual consequences of each alternative, and select the best according to the decision makers’ (Loch and Wu, 2007, pp.21), it is impossible to perform the entire decisions making process through reasoning. As a result purchasers are forced to make some decisions based on intuition. When using intuition, the purchaser uses shortcuts, possibly leading to sub-optimal results due to the deviation from normative decision making (Clark et al. 2008). The decisions made are controlled by knowledge that is developed by organisations or individuals over the years (Bingham and Eisenhardt, 2011). This type of knowledge can be divided into three categories: organisational knowledge, organisational routines, and heuristics (Bingham and Eisenhardt, 2011).

2.2 Gaining knowledge

When analysing an organisational process, a large part of the processes is learned and cultivated into an organisation based on experience (Bingham and Eisenhardt, 2011). Bingham and Eisenhardt (2011) provide three lenses to classify knowledge that is learned by organisations: organisational knowledge, organisational routines, and heuristics. All three lenses can cause biases (figure 2.2.1) and are used in both intuition and reasoning processes, though they play a greater role when using intuition.

Organisational knowledge can be either explicit or tacit, but it helps individuals understand a process and communicate the understanding throughout the organisation (Zollo and Winter, 2002). Organisational tacit knowledge is unique to the organisation and is developed inside the organisation, thus making it difficult to explain or describe. Biases can be present in the organisational processes due to the difficulty to regulate organisational knowledge.

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12 The third and final lens provided by Bingham and Eisenhardt (2011) is heuristics: ‘shortcuts that emerge when information, time, and processing capacity are limited’ (Bingham and Eisenhardt, 2011, pp.1439; Newell and Simon, 1972). Heuristics do not appear within organisations without reason. Bingham and Eisenhardt (2011) state that organisations learn heuristics over a period of time and often result in biases. However, heuristics are not only learned by organisations, individuals acquire heuristics over time as well (Hall and Paradice, 2007). All of the three lenses can be the origin of bias.

Figure 2.2.1 - 3 Lenses can cause biases which can be divided into nine categories

2.3 Decision biases

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13 that highlight the possible effect of these bias categories. For a full overview of biases in each cluster, refer to appendix F. Due to the clustering, some bias categories show close resemblance. An example of this is output evaluation and control bias. In this case the difference lies in nuances, such as the interpretation of the output.

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14 Table 2.3.1 – The nine categories of biases including explanation and examples adapted from Carter, Kaufmann, and Michel (2007)

Decision bias category

Effect on judgment or decision rationality

Explanation and Examples

1 2 3 Availability cognition Over –optimistic/-pessimistic evaluation. Disregard of relevant alternatives. Imaginability or recall of a productive collaboration between producer and vendor may lead to over –optimistic evaluations.

A vendor is chosen due to its regional culture, being similar to the purchasers own under the belief it may produce higher quality.

Information is excluded from the decision process due to the purchaser’s education,

affiliation or profession.

Base rate Over –optimistic/-pessimistic evaluation. Erroneous evaluation of events probabilities or outcomes.

Adjustment error on reception of new relevant information about supply market

development can lead to over – optimistic/-pessimistic

evaluations.

A purchaser may ignore data and instead rely more on anecdote or personal experience of other purchasers.

A purchaser might base its decision on a single or several vivid data point instead of less lucid more reliable data.

Presentation Disregard of relevant alternatives. Over – optimistic/-pessimistic evaluation. Erroneous evaluation of event probabilities or outcomes. A perceived completeness in presentations of a set of

alternative vendors may lead to an unjustified disregard of other vendors.

A purchaser has two choices between two bids, one digital and the other written. The purchaser choses the written one because it is preferred.

The risk of making a purchase is presented as having great results and is accepted due to the possibility of these great results whilst the risk should not be accepted. Control illusion Erroneous evaluation of event probabilities or outcomes. Over -optimistic/-pessimistic evaluation. Disregard of alternatives.

A sequence of random events, such as previously developed innovations of suppliers, can be mistaken for the essential characteristic of a process.

If a process fails this might be due to a single component of this process but the entire process is seen as a failure.

If a project succeeds the purchaser might relate this success to his choices whilst this might be due to many other factors. Output evaluation Over-optimistic/-pessimistic evaluation. Erroneous evaluation of event probabilities or outcomes. Disappointing vendor collaboration may be

associated with poor luck and success with the abilities of the purchasing .department.

The purchaser sees logic where there is none. Choosing paint due to the fact that it should be good as the same brand creates painting boots that are good.

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15 Commitment Over

-optimistic/-pessimistic evaluation. Disregard of relevant alternatives.

A supply management department may commit to follow an unsatisfactory course of action by including sunk costs into evaluation.

Once a decision maker commits to a course of action he or she will continue this course even if presented with facts suggesting it to be a poor choice.

The organisations or purchasers reputation is at stake and economic cost are taken for granted so not to lose reputation.

Confirmatory Disregard of relevant alternatives. Over-optimistic/-pessimistic evaluation. Erroneous evaluation of event probabilities or outcomes.

Tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms ones

preconceptions about a vendor.

Due to a plant visit a purchaser might prefer that certain vendors whilst it is not related to the purchase at hand.

A purchaser might like a product similar to the one to be purchases and relate this experience to the current product to be purchased.

Persistence Disregard of relevant alternatives. Over -optimistic/-pessimistic evaluation.

As individuals have a strong tendency to remain at the status quo it can be an obstacle for regarding other vendors for vendor switching.

A vendor has given low prices and high quality over the last several years and still does so, eventhough others might supply at lower price and equal quality

Persistence can be use full when buying e.g. paperclips. Due to its low costs the process of vendor selection is more expensive. Reference point Over -optimistic/-pessimistic evaluation. Erroneous evaluation of event probabilities or outcomes.

Adjustments from an initial position (anchor) are usually not appropriate for target setting of prices.

If an opening bid is set at a certain point the rest of the negotiations are referenced to that point.

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16 2.4 Purchasing process

Purchases can be divided into two categories; consumer or business purchases (Butler and Peppard, 1998). Both consumer and business purchases show similar phases, although business purchases are more complicated and extensive compared to consumer purchases (Butler and Peppard, 1998). The phases in business purchases used by Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies (1998) are shown in figure 2.4.1 Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies (1998) use these phases to describe service purchases, whilst this paper looks at both product and service purchases. Despite this, this paper does use the purchasing process used by Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies (1998).

Costantino and Pietfroforte (2004) show the purchasing phases to be identification of a need, supplier identification and quotation, and quotation evaluation and negotiation. The naming of the phases is different, compared to the framework proposed by Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies (1998). Although the phases are named differently, they imply upon the same type of task to be done. The same can be said for processes presented by Boddy (2008), Boddy and Paton (2011), Daft (2008), and Blythe (2006). All processes consist of a need identification phase, sometimes split into recognition and specification development. The second and third phase proposed by Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies (1998), also known as the information search and the vendor selection, is again represented in most of the mentioned sources. However, after this, a difference emerges where some processes move directly onto buying and others to a contracting phase. Other proposed processes add a final phase to the process, where the performance is evaluated, as do Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies (1998). The process that Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies (1998) use for service purchases will be utilized to analyse material purchases as well, which is made possible due to the overlap with other material puchasing processes.

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17 Within purchasing processes, the first phases are the most important ones and have the greatest effect on total cost, as shown in figure 2.4.2 (Harink, Telgen, and Streefkerk, 1999). A reason for this relative importnace is the high variety of choices to be made during these phases. Due to the significantly higher impact of the first two phases on total cost, these phases were used in the analysis of biases.

Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies (1998) use a four phase process; need identification, information search, vendor selection, and performance evaluation. Due to the relative importance of the earlier phases in the process, the process used by Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies (1998) is adapted to only consist of the three phases shown in figure 2.4.1 The depiction of the purchasing process also shows all aspects that are related to each phase within the process. The less aspects are included in the process, the more probable it is that biases are present (Loch and Wu, 2007).

Figure 2.4.2 - Importance of purchasing process related to total cost 2.5 Closing the gap

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18 Gelderman and Semeijn (2006) found that the percentage of products bought, using Kraljic’s portfolio matrix, vary from what theory suggests it should be (Gelderman and Semeijn, 2006). The study revealed a clear deviation between theory and practice due to the use of the three lenses by employees. Examples where the three lenses caused biases are given by Loch and Wu (2007) such as; its influence on the bullwhip effect (Su, 2007) or Katok and Wu (2006) who find buy-back contracts and revenue sharing contracts to deviate from normative decision theory due to biases. Moreover, Gino and Pisano (2008) find bias to influence the allocation of resources to research and development projects. Biases have also been found in supply chain coordination problems, where they cause failure in the ability to coordinate a supply chain (Loch and Wu, 2007). Furthermore, Schweitzer and Cachon (2000) and Bolton and Katok (2008) find heuristics to influence behaviour in the newsvendor experiment.

It can be deduced that papers either refer to one of the three lenses, or the possibly resulting biases as a cause of deviation from normative decision making. Loch and Wu (2007) identify different studies where organisational theory has benefited from the addition of behavioural aspects. They stated that the operational models are not made redundant, but are enriched by identifying behavioural biases (Loch and Wu, 2007). To increase the value of theory, and in doing so, closing the gap between purchasing theory and organisational behaviour, this paper asks the question:

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3. Methodology -

descriptive survey

This paper identifies and describes the association between the concepts of the purchasing process and biases. It does so through the means of empirical research in the form of survey research. Empirical research has been used and called for by the OM field (operations management) since the establishment of the OM field itself (Karlsson, 2009). The thought behind empirical research is to reduce the gap between management practice and theory, and to increase the usefulness of OM research for practitioners, whilst also increasing the scientific recognition of the OM field in general (Karlsson, 2009). To achieve this goal a survey was used, recognizing it does not have a longitudinal character and its results are based on cross-sectional observations (Rindfleisch et al., 2008; Karlsson, 2009).

Theory recognises different types of survey research (Karlsson, 2009). Due to the lack of explanatory research on the affinity between the purchasing process and biases, an explanatory or descriptive research focused on the relationship was a better choice. Descriptive research methodology aims to understand ‘the relevance of a phenomenon and describe the incidence or distribution of the phenomenon in a population’ (Karlsson, 2009, pp.89). A descriptive survey research methodology is used to describe the possible existence of a relationship between the purchasing process and biases. The process depicted, figure 3.1, is a deductive process as hypotheses are created before the data is collected (Karlsson, 2009). The research itself bears inductive characteristics, as grounded theory is used after the data is collected to reach conclusions. The next subchapters will discuss phases in the process.

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20 3.1 Link to theoretical level

The first phases in the research process are to identify a problem at hand, map the problem in the existing literature, and clarify the intended contribution to academics (Karlsson, 2009). This phase was elaborated upon in the previously presented theoretical framework. The theoretical framework shows current literature on the purchasing process and biases.

3.2 Design

The research participants that were chosen were purchasers. The participants were chosen for their location, the north of the Netherlands, and the industry they were in, construction. The reason for choosing both the specific industry and area was the limited traveling distance of construction organisations and the semi-secluded location of the north of the Netherlands. The combination of these two attributes created a semi-secluded setting where purchasers often had to purchase and select from similar vendors. As the size of the organisations grew, the limitation on vendor selection possibility reduced. The sample consisted of five organisations, each differing in size, ranging from three to 135 employees. Purchaser E was not located in the north of the Netherlands, but represented the purchasing function of organisations in the North of the Netherlands. Table 3.2.1 shows the five purchasers. To have accessibility to possibly sensitive data, the purchasers and their organisations are kept anonymous.

Table 3.2.1 – Units under analysis

Purchaser Number of employees Full time purchaser

A 5 No

B 30 No

C 75 No

D 135 No

E 8 (represents 48 parties) Yes 3.2.1 Data collection

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21 Part of the interview was executed as a cognitive task analysis. The participant explained, word by word, what decisions and actions he or she undergoes when completing an entire purchasing process (Tricket and Trafton, 2006). According to Tricket and Trafton (2006) the resulting transcript can be taken as a reflection of the cognitive processes that is used when making the actual decision. Prior to the interview, a discussion identified what specific type of purchase would be discussed in the cognitive task analysis and its relative importance to the organisation.

3.2.2 Type of purchase

A wide range of purchasing types can be found in literature, either typifying service purchases, or product purchases (Fitzsimmons, Noh, and Thies, 1998). All these purchases can be categorized under three headings; new buy, modified rebuy, and straight rebuy (Lamb, Hair, and McDaniel, 2009). A new buy is a purchase when a product or service is required for the first time. The modified rebuy explains a situation where the purchased item has been acquired previously but the characteristics of the purchase have changed, e.g. colour, quality, vendor, etc. The last type of purchase is the straight rebuy; a product is purchased without changing the previously negotiated conditions. The cognitive task analysis incorporated both new buy and modified rebuy. It is important to keep in mind that with a modified rebuy there already is a vendor within the scope of the purchaser, and a definition of what is needed has already been made, although it might need adjusting.

3.2.3 Relative importance to the organisation

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22 To increase the value of the data gathered in the cognitive task analysis, the rest of the interview aimed at clarifying the process described in the cognitive task analysis and adding possibly important data. If the purchase of an electric drill was discussed in the cognitive task analysis questions would focus more on a new buy and bottleneck item.

3.3 Pilot test and collecting data

As a result of the pilot test, ‘quality’ was added to the vendor selection phase. The high occurrence of this attribute was often a reason for certain choices in the pilot test. The decision to add quality was supported by literature (Parthiban, Zubar, and Katakar, 2013; Parthiban and Abdul, 2013; Palvia et al, 2013).

The interview was done five times, over a period of two months. After the interview data was collected and processed into text within 24 hours to keep the data accurate. The process of transforming spoken text to written text was done as accurately as possible, including pauses, sounds of uncertainty, and the rephrasing of sentences.

3.4 Data analysis

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4. Results

The degree to which purchasers thought to follow the purchasing process was first evaluated. The collected data, registered in a transcript, was then analysed for qualitative data using a grounded theory approach. Appendixes A to E show the transcripts; within the transcript text in italics are important and texts in bold italics are referenced in the paper. The evaluation of the purchasing process identified possible areas in which biases might occur. The second phase was to identify what biases were present, and finally to what degree they were present. The results of the analysis of the purchasing process are shown below in table 4.1. Table 4.1 shows the same phases as in figure 2.4.1 with the added results of the questionnaires and interviews. The table shows two results per purchaser; the first is the actual process that they were found to follow, and the second is the process they claimed to follow in the questionnaire prior to the interview. Table 4.2 shows the tendencies towards bias categories that were found with each purchaser. The indication shows, either no indication of possible biases, or weak, medium or strong intensity towards possible biases. The intensity was based on the found intensity of the purchasing biases in the interviews.

Table 4.1 Results of following the purchasing process indicated by Fitzsimmons et al. (1998)

Phases in process Pu rc h ase r P roblem de fini ti on Involve int er es ted pa rti es S pe cif ica ti on de ve lopm ent Inf or mation se ar ch E xpe rienc e R eputation R ef er enc e C os t L oc ati on S ize Qua li ty P ha se s take n

A Actual Yes Yes Yes 3/11

thought Yes Yes Yes Yes 4/11

B actual ~ Yes Yes ~ Yes Yes Yes ~ 5/11

thought Yes Yes Yes ~ Yes Yes Yes 6/11

C actual Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ~ 7/11

thought Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 11/11

D actual Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 9/11

thought Yes ~ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 9/11

E actual Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 8/11

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24 Table 4.2 Results of purchaser bias

Decision bias category A B C D E

Availability cognition 1 Strong Medium Strong Medium Medium

Base rate 2 Weak Weak

Presentation 3 Weak Strong Weak Weak

Control illusion 4 Weak Weak

Output evaluation 5 Weak Weak Strong Weak Medium

Commitment 6 Medium Weak Weak Weak

Confirmatory 7

Persistence 8 Strong Weak Weak

Reference point 9 Weak Weak

4.1 Purchaser A

Purchaser A indicated he did little to nothing on the purchasing process. Whilst the interview found him to ‘look for what they needed’ (Appendix A, line 38) for strategic purchases the general purchases where structured as a straight-rebuy. He claimed that for most general products it was more important to simply have them and to not waste time by possible switching vendors (Appendix A, line 108). The important thing was that his two main vendors were able to supply within a few hours. Consequently, he followed no real phases in the purchasing process and selected on experience and location alone (Appendix A, line 33). He claimed to select on quality, and often went to great lengths to select the right product for a specific job (Appendix A, line 69). It was found that this selection procedure was only present on items with strategic characteristics (Appendix A, line 69). He also indicated to select on cost during the purchasing process (Appendix A, line 67). However, as well as with quality, this was only the case for items with strategic characteristics. He stated ‘it simply has to be available’ (Appendix A, line 107). Furthermore, he claimed to select on quality, while he was actually selecting on experiences with the vendor.

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25 4.2 Purchaser B

Purchaser B claimed to follow more phases of the purchasing process in the questionnaire than the interview found him to do. In the cognitive task analysis, done by purchaser B, the problem definition was given by the market, and there was little done to further specify (Appendix B, line 9). The questionnaire indicated he involved interested parties into the purchasing decision, whilst the interview revealed this was partially done before and partially done after most of the process was already completed (Appendix B, line 60). As a result, he did not make use of the possible knowledge of others. Whilst he suggested that ‘not price alone’ (Appendix B, line 25) is important, skipping most other forms of specification suggested otherwise. He indicated that he found it important that the products were sourced locally as much as possible, because that was where they conducted business (Appendix B, line 66). Quality was suggested as important, but was only used as a criterion for strategic items.

Purchaser B preferred regional vendors and only selected vendors if regional (Appendix B, line 21). He also selected information on the basis of vendors only supplying a single brand and how they presented their product resulting in strong presentation bias, whilst there is no proper reason in doing so (Appendix B, line 81). He indicated that he had good experiences with a certain brand, but although the new item purchased was of that same brand, this was a coincidence (Appendix B, line 43). Together with clear signs of preferring vendors out of the same region (Appendix B, line 21) this led to medium availability cognition bias.

4.3 Purchaser C

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26 Purchaser C demonstrated high bias towards availability cognition bias due to preferring regional vendors (Appendix C, line 44), and being able to recall previously positive experiences (Appendix C, line 23). Different from purchaser A and B, he showed output evaluation bias by stating that it is not important how it is done, as long as the result is there (Appendix C, line 140). Equally as with purchaser A there was commitment bias due to selecting vendors with whom they had good experiences.

4.4 Purchaser D

Purchaser D claimed to follow the most phases out of all the purchasers. The information he gave was often more from a theoretical perspective, but was confirmed with experiences. Out of all purchasers he often specified the importance of the problem definition- (Appendix D, line 8) and specification phase (Appendix D, line 20). Purchaser D was also the first purchaser to not select or see the importance of location when making a purchase. He did have prior history at a multinational and was experienced with more sophisticated purchasing processes (Appendix D, line 81). He indicated that currently no process was present, as there was no purchasing specialist active within the organisation (Appendix D, line 116).

Purchaser D revealed no strong bias over the entire interview. He did recognise that in the past a lot of bias towards the availability cognition- and persistence bias existed (Appendix D, line 90). He expressed that some information is based on availability cognition such as familiarity with the industry (Appendix D, line 9).

4.5 Purchaser E

The only purchaser whose job solely consisted of purchasing was Purchaser E. He stated that the organisation has their right of existence due to the capability of showing less bias (Appendix E, line 169), and most of the construction businesses use a lot of emotion in the process (Appendix E, line 161). He suggested this had to do with size, as larger organisations can cover the cost of purchasing specialist with the possible gains of having one (Appendix E, line 167). Equally as purchaser D, he emphasized the importance of the first phases of the process (Appendix E, line 14) and followed many of the same phases as purchaser D. Equally as the other purchasers, except for D, purchaser E did not ask for references when making decisions.

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27 he was conscious of this and emphasised that this can influence possible selection of a vendor prior to the selection process, but must not influence the final selection of vendor (Appendix E, line 22).

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5. Analysis and Implications

Biases have been found in many other organisational processes, and the purchasing process has been found to be no different. The previous section reported on the results and clearly demonstrated that biases are present in the purchasing process. It should be mentioned that the answering of the question ‘to what extent’ is more difficult and possibly more interesting. This chapter will discuss the results that were found concerning biases in the purchasing process.

The data indicated that following the process does not exclude biases. However, following the process revealed to lead to less intense biases (figure 4.2). Purchaser D and E, who followed most of the prescribed phases, revealed no strong biases in their process. Whilst purchaser A, B, and C followed less phases of the purchasing process, they exhibited more intense biases. Purchaser B follows the ‘involve interested parties’ phase as well as purchasers D and E, but he skips the problem definition phase, as well as purchasers A and C. As a result of following one of the two phases, B has less intense biases than A and C. Concluding, problem definition and involving interested parties in the purchasing process leads to less severe biases in the entire process.

A recurring observation over all the interviews was that bias often originated from two of the three lenses developed over the years; organisational processes and organisational knowledge. The purchasers referred to these lenses as ‘experience’ or ‘relation’. The three lenses describe the use of experience to aid in the process, however, should not lead to the exclusion of vendors or biases. The same can be said about making decisions due to a ‘relationship’ developed over the years. All purchasers used experience and relationships as a base of making decisions and judging possible vendors, however, the awareness of the presence of the resulting biases made a difference between strong (purchaser A, B, and C) or weak (purchaser D and E) bias. Concluding, the paper found that awareness of biases and its effect reduced biases in the process.

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29 When analysing the transcript further, it was found that purchaser A, B, and C demonstrated availability cognition biases. They all favoured regional vendors they were familiar with and could recall positive experiences with. Purchaser D and E displayed medium availability cognition but indicated they were aware of this bias and its effects, but indicated it should not influence the final decision. This awareness could lower the bias score even further in table 4.2. The impact of only selecting preferred, known, regional vendors could be an explanation for neglecting or skipping the first few phases of the process. It can also be argued that neglecting the first few phases is the reason for selecting preferred known regional vendors. Most of the biases found originated in organisational routine and organisational knowledge gained and developed over the years. Purchasers D and E stated they were aware of bias behaviour in the purchasing process as a result of the three lenses or had eliminated them in the past. Purchaser C stated that the purchasing function is under constant evaluation and through making mistakes the process is perfected. However, over the years organisational routine, organisational knowledge and heuristics might have led to strong biases that do not necessarily lead to mistakes and can therefore not be observed. This observation was supported by purchaser D, who indicated that strong biases were observed as part of a fixed process when entering the organisation. A critical view of the organisational routine, organisational knowledge, and heuristics would identify possible biases and could limit the intensity of biases or partly eliminate them. This was supported by purchaser D, who claimed that they had not noticed the bias until a new set of eyes told them so.

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6. Conclusion and Discussion

The paper set out to explore possible biases in the purchasing process. In line with literature, biases were found in the purchasing process. More interesting were the results found in the analysis phase of the research.

The paper found that following a process does not exclude biases from the process, but makes them less intense. The intensity of biases could be related to the degree to which a purchasing process is followed. This result supports the implementation of purchasing processes in practice, but shows it will not eliminate biases but only manage them.

An observation that the first few phases are the most important phases in reducing bias was supported in all interviews. The following of the ‘problem definition’ and ‘involve interested parties’ phase resulted in the selection of a wider range of vendors and lower intensity of overall bias. The skipping of these phases resulted in the preference of local vendors with whom they had prior experiences resulting in a higher overall bias. The preference of selecting only local vendors with whom they had prior experience might have led to the skipping of these phases. Even though the direction of the relation was not clear, it could be concluded that it reduced bias intensity.

Observing the use of experience and relationship factors by all purchasers revealed that most of the biases in the purchasing process originate from organisational knowledge or organisational processes and not from heuristics. The nature of decisions that were made had little to do with the heuristics. The use of experience and relationship factors was seen as important by all purchasers. Purchaser D recognised that using relationship factors, can bring advantages over the long run, but might lead to higher prices or lower quality. The awareness of purchaser D of the possible advantages and disadvantages of a relationship led to the proposed relation that awareness of biases reduces biases. This paper found the intensity of biases to vary with either the awareness of biases or the extent to which a purchasing process was followed.

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31 the halo effect where skill A is seen as evidence that skill B is possible present as well (Carter, Kaufmann, and Michel, 2007). Other more statistical biases that fall under the confirmatory biases where not adequately tested in the interview.

The method used had advantages and disadvantages. The cases that were selected strongly reflect different sizes of organisations and gave in-depth information on the choices purchasers make. The method used created a rich understanding of the biases inside a purchasing process and gave a clear view of how they could possibly effect the purchasing decision. Using nine categories to explain possible biases resulted in a broad view that included all possible biases. Due to this broad view in-depth analysis of availability, familiarity or recall was not possible.

Future research should be done in exploring methods to reduce biases. Does following a process really reduce the intensity of biases, is awareness itself enough, or is a combination of these two methods the optimal approach? If awareness would prove to be enough to reduce overall biases, this would mean that following a process is not redundant, but is made less important in relation to decision biases. A study of Kaufmann, Carter, and Buhrmann (2010) support the statement that both an awareness of bias and a clear decision structure can possibly reduce bias. From a purchasing practitioner perspective this would mean that controlling a process might become not the only focal point. A practitioner would need to focus more on creating awareness of biases and the personal development of purchasing skills to reduce bias. A semi-fixed process were emphases on the first few phases of the process is key, combined with awareness of biases gives a purchasing process the least intense biases and the possibly the highest success rate.

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33

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37

Appendix A - Interview Purchaser A

#01-A - Date: 19-11-2013 [Conducted in Dutch] Number of employees: 5 1 Function: owner/CEO 2 Age: 50+ 3 Education: HBO 4

Zou je een volledig inkoop proces kunnen beschrijven? 5

Nou [...] wat we wel doen is bij het ruwe bouwmaterialen [...] [~] hebben we, [ | ] er telt bij 6

ons altijd meer dan alleen de prijs. Het is voor ons belangrijk, het vlotte leveren, maar ook 7

met bepaalde bedrijven hebben we bepaalde relaties. [...] Dat vind ik best wel meetellen. 8

Voor de ruwe bouwmaterialen hebben we twee grote leveranciers, die leveren de bulk. En

9

die zijn beide ook in staat de volgende dag te leveren. Sterker nog er is een leverancier [...] 10

van hang- en sluitwerk, als ik daar voor 21:00 bestel heb ik het voor 13:00 [...] in huis, in 11

andere woorden ik heb geen voorraad meer nodig. Je kan het allemaal zo vlot bestellen. [...] [ | 12

] Prijs is daardoor niet meer het belangrijkste. Onderaannemers zijn hetzelfde verhaal, met 13

enkele maak je prijsafspraken [ | ] en zo nu en dan kijk je om je heen of het goedkoper kan. 14

Dit is meer om een prikje uit te delen dan dat je van iemand af wilt. Het is meer omdat je al 15

jaren met iemand samenwerkt en [...] hem scherp wilt houden. [...]. Daarnaast [...] zijn we een 16

oud bedrijf dat veel in onderhoud en verbouw doet en daar kan je niet praten over eenheden of 17

standaarden; bij dergelijke werkzaamheden gaat het veel om de ervaring met het werk. Als je 18

daar een onderaannemer bij selecteert kies je van te voren al je onderaannemer uit en ga je 19

dan pas je werk bekijken; dit kan niet met meerdere onderaannemers, dat wil gewoon niet. De 20

aannemer weet ook dat als de klus gegeven wordt, krijg ik ook de klus. Beide partijen zijn van 21

elkaar afhankelijk. Deze relatie komt soms ook de andere kant op wanneer een 22

onderaannemer een klus niet aankan, komen zij weer naar ons toe. Ik ben van mening dat zo’n 23

relatie meer waarde heeft vergeleken met een relatie waar je steeds op het scherpst van de 24

snede werkt, dat krijg je een keer tegen je. [...]. Kijk je zit niet in [ | ] serieproductie, als je in 25

serie werkt - die tijd is al lang verdwenen [ | ]- als je 150 gelijke woningen bouwt en als je 26

halverwege weet dat je er weer [ | ] 100 kan bouwen dan kan je heel scherp gaan kijken naar 27

prijs en onderaannemers. Dit werk doen wij echter niet en is niet gebruikelijk meer in de 28

bouwbranche; grotendeels. 29

Waarop wordt de onderaannemer geselecteerd? 30

Je probeert wel op tijd je afspraken te maken. Als iemand helemaal niet meer kan moet je wel 31

eens wat regelen. De onderaannemers worden geselecteerd op wat er nodig zou zijn. Hierbij 32

wordt alleen gekeken naar partijen waarmee ooit al eens is samengewerkt. We proberen wel

33

afspraken te maken. Als iemand helemaal niet meer kan, wat niet vaak voorkomt, moet je wel 34

eens een andere regelen. Deze mensen weten ook dat als je voor ons werkt dat je betaald 35

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38 En wat bij inkoop van materiële processen?

37

Nou ten eerste […] kijken we wat voor machine je nodig hebt. Er is verschrikkelijk veel te

38

koop. Het proces van bijvoorbeeld een nieuwe machine kopen voor de werkplaats zou stap 39

één zijn om te kijken naar wat we nodig hebben. Op dit moment is er in de gebruikte handel 40

zoveel te krijgen voor een prikkie. Ik zou zelf moeten kijken [...] wat er op de markt is en 41

daarop gebaseerd een keuze maken. We hebben een bedrijf dat onze keuringen doet [...] en 42

die hebben ook de helft van de machines geleverd. Maar deze relatie is niet heel strikt, dus er 43

kan overgestapt worden. Die relatie is minder intiem dan met zeg maar de stukadoor, de 44

tegelzetter en de installateur (onderaannemer). [ | ] Frequentie speelt een rol maar we geven 45

ook wel eens voor het gemak iets uit vanwege de vakkennis. Als ik iets niet meer weet, hoe 46

leg je bijvoorbeeld natuurtegels op dakbedekking. Dat speelt nu en dat weet ik niet dus dan ga 47

ik met een onderaannemer in gesprek, omdat ik het zelf even niet weet. Deze onderaannemer 48

weet ook dat als hij een nette prijs neerlegt en wij krijgen het werk, hij ook het werk krijgt. 49

Hierbij is de laagste prijs niet meer belangrijk. Hierbij is het belangrijk dat het goed is, dat 50

vind ik belangrijk. Als die klant maar weet dat wij er goed over nagedacht hebben en het goed 51

is. [...] Een tegelvloer of dakbedekking, [...] [~] [...] er was een klus daar heb ik een 52

steenhouwer moeten vragen of een marmeren vloer buiten op het dakterras kon. Dan begin ik 53

te bellen met onderaannemers en gaan we er sowieso even heen voor het geval we nog iets 54

anders kunnen verkopen. Je moet toch proberen met die mensen in gesprek te komen want ik 55

ben dan nog nooit bij deze mensen geweest. We gaan er toch even heen want misschien kan je 56

toch wat anders kopen. Van ja, je moet het eigenlijk niet doen want [...] het marmer [...] als 57

het vriest, knapt het kapot. Je komt daar via een architect en dan kan je met hun in contact 58

komen. Misschien hebben ze ook wel kozijnen nodig en dan kunnen wij dat leveren. 59

Hoe komt de architect bij jullie? 60

Een architect komt dan ook naar ons toe uit ervaring. Er is wel eens geroepen dat wij geen 61

aannemers zijn maar een stel knutselaars. Een beetje oneerbiedig misschien [...] maar ik vind 62

het, waar ik net mee begon. Eindeloze gipsplafonds maken vind ik niks aan. Ik wil elke dag 63

een nieuwe uitdaging op mijn weg, en de vraag hoe kunnen we dit nou oplossen. Het kost 64

meer tijd maar de score is wat hoger, hoewel dit niet spectaculair is, en je hebt meer lol in je 65

werk. Daar staat ook tegenover dat je anders inkoopt, je kijkt er op een andere manier naar. 66

Het is simpel [...] plafondschoten daar ga ik voor de laagste prijs, dan maakt het geen bal uit. 67

Er komt weer gips overheen dus niemand ziet het, daar ga je echt voor de laagste prijs of kijk 68

je soms eens rond. Maar als het op afwerking aankomt wordt het specifiek.

69

Je hebt soms ook geen keuze omdat het type of merk product wordt aangeleverd en je moet bij 70

een bepaalde leverancier kopen. Onze eigen timmerfabriek hadden we allang moeten 71

afstoten, maar als je kijkt naar de toegevoegde waarde in de uitvoering, die is zo gigantisch. Ik 72

ben blij dat een hoop mensen de timmerfabrieken afstoten, vooral de kleine, want een 73

heleboel komen nu naar ons toe om hun spullen te laten maken. Er gaat nu veel naar 74

kunststof, daar hebben we niet zo veel mee, maar als het moet, dan moet het. Er zijn nog 75

steeds een hoop schilders, iedere week gaat er toch wel [~] [...] een aantal opdrachten uit. Op 76

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39 op de bouwplaats. Dit is over de jaren zo gegroeid; hier is toen niet aan gedacht bij het

78

aannemen van de betreffende persoon. 79

Het wordt wat minder, ja …. het wordt wat minder, de vraag is minder naar allemaal 80

lijstwerk. [ | ] Wil je een bepaalde woning in een bepaalde stijl houden of terugbrengen, dan is 81

dat afhankelijk van bijvoorbeeld lijsten die om de deuren heen zitten. [ | ] Hiervoor hebben we 82

enorme series aan frezen en het vakkundig personeel. Daar hebben we in het verleden wel 83

veel lawaai over gemaakt: mensen als je lijsten nodig hebt kom maar hier. We hadden een 84

keer een paar huizen gemaakt en toen waren die lijsten zo mooi dat ik zei: maak maar een 85

paar voor ons eigen pand. 86

Hoe wordt elektrisch gereedschap bij jullie ingekocht? 87

Ik heb ook wel eens bij twee leveranciers, wel vaste, tien accuboormachines gevraagd. Wat 88

gaat dit kosten? Dan moet je ook wel achter de oren krabben, want bij de ene krijg je er een 89

lampje bij en de andere biedt iets anders aan, het verschilt weer wat tientjes. En dan vraag je 90

je toch af wat moet ik nou. Je hebt geen zin als je er één nodig hebt om negen in de kast te 91

hebben staan. Soms heb je geen keuze in machine, maar enkel dat je een machine nodig hebt. 92

Bij de inkoop van gereedschap kijken wij naar zowel vaste leveranciers voor grootschalige 93

inkoop als eenmalig kleine inkoop. Bij de selectie wordt snel gekeken waar kan ik er één 94

halen bij een huidige handelaar, zodat ik weer verder kan.

95

(Er wordt gestoord) Kijk dat was typisch een voorbeeld van iets dat niet in de handel is. Dit 96

kunnen wij dan wel maken en dan moet je het ook zelf maken. Het is raar als wij nee zeggen; 97

we zeggen wel eens dat het heel duur wordt; dat doe ik liever. 98

Waar waren we gebleven, o ja de accuboren. Er wordt wel gevraagd; wat zou je adviseren? 99

Die batterijen worden al beter. Het is belangrijk om goed spul te hebben, daar moet je wel in 100

meegaan. Zolang als het draait, dan draait het. Ik weet niet hoe dat spul opgeladen wordt 101

maar […] Kijk bij een accuboormachine moeten twee accu’s, één in de lader en een tweede in 102

de machine. Dit helemaal in professioneel gebruik, dit moet gewoon goed spul zijn. Die 103

dingen worden de hele dag door gebruikt, dus dit moet gewoon goed spul zijn. 104

Nog verdere opmerkingen over het inkoopbeleid? 105

De bulk die wij inkopen is natuurlijk kozijnhout, dat kopen wij per pakket in, per 100 honderd 106

meter of 500. Dat moet gewoon klaarliggen. [...] Dit laat je nooit per project aanrukken, het 107

is een kwestie van oppakken en gebruiken en dan weer bijbestellen. Als je praat over deuren

108

dat is natuurlijk [ | ] een schaal, [ | ] dan kijk ik wel eens rond voor wat er is voor de klant 109

maar ook voor mij attractief is om aan te schaffen. [...] In deuren zit natuurlijk een heleboel 110

maatwerk en dan heb je nog een aantal fabrikanten. Ik probeer wel zoveel mogelijk naar twee 111

fabrikanten te sturen waar je weet dat het goed is. Voor het hang- en sluitwerk hebben wij 112

speciaal gereedschap aangeschaft, dat is goed en duur spul, dus je probeert altijd wel die kant 113

op te sturen (merk). En dan lukt eigenlijk ook altijd wel. Zoals wat ik net zij, die 114

plafondschroten die gaan per bossen tegelijk, maar verder is de rest heel specifiek. Als je een 115

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40 dakramen. Daar moet je soms maar wat uitzoeken. Met leveranciers hebben we wel

117

afspraken, een soort jaarcontract. In dat jaarcontract staan bijvoorbeeld ook de prijzen 118

vastgelegd. En bij een grote aankoop voor een groot project, [...] zeg maar 15 dakramen, dan 119

bel je ze even van; hé jongens ik kan zoveel dakramen wegzetten wat [...] gaat dat kosten 120

vandaag? Dan krijg je ook levering rechtstreeks van Velux dus die leverancier is alleen maar 121

de brievenbus waarnaar alleen de factuur wordt gestuurd. We hebben het ook wel eens 122

gebundeld, [...] vorig jaar nog eens 20 dakramen. Daar drie en daar twee, verzamelen en dan 123

in een keer een prijs aanvragen dat scheelt wel. Het is niet spectaculair maar alle beetjes 124

helpen. 125

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41

Appendix B - Interview Purchaser B

#02-A – date: 18-11-2013 [Conducted in Dutch] Number of employees: 30 1 Function: owner/CEO 2 Age: 40-50 3 Education: HBO 4

Kan je een recent inkoopproces beschrijven? 5

Zeker op dit moment neem je werk aan en in dit geval is dat het repareren van 6

aardbevingsschade. Daar heb je machines voor nodig waarmee je stofvrij kan werken; je slijpt 7

in muren en voegen en stenen en dat geeft heel veel stof. Buiten is dat niet heel erg, maar je 8

moet voldoen aan de Arbo normen dus nagenoeg [~] stofvrij werken. Daarvoor zijn

9

machines in de handel en [...] zijn haakse slijpers nodig met kappen er omheen die 10

aangesloten worden op een hele grote stofzuigmachine die de stof weer in gradaties filtert; 11

daarmee kunnen wij zelfs binnen nagenoeg stofvrij frezen. Dan frezen wij zelf sleuven van 6 12

tot 7 cm breed en 1 cm diep en die frezen wij in één keer in. En dat doen we dan stofvrij. 13

Daarvoor hadden we speciale machines nodig en die hadden we niet. De eerste stap was om te 14

kijken wat er op de markt is. Dan kom je diverse zuigers en machines tegen. Vervolgens 15

hebben we de verschillende fabrikanten uitgenodigd om een demonstratie te geven. 16

Vervolgens is een keuze gemaakt in eerste instantie welke machine ons het beste lijkt te 17

bevallen. Daarna hebben we nog eens gekeken [...] hoe gaan we deze inkopen, wat kost het, 18

hoe worden ze aangeboden. We hadden meerdere machines nodig, een kwantum geeft altijd 19

korting, dus deze machines moesten ook met korting gekocht worden. Toen duidelijk was wat 20

we wilden hebben we gekeken wie hier in de omgeving de aanbieders zijn. Die hebben we

21

vervolgens gevraagd: ‘maak maar een aanbieding’. 22

Naar welke kwalificaties hebben jullie gekeken? 23

Garantie was er bijna op iedere machine dus dit was niet van veel belang. We hebben 24

geselecteerd [~], niet in de eerste instantie op prijs, maar op de hanteerbaarheid, hoe 25

gemakkelijk zijn ze. Je moet heel goed kunnen zien wat je freest en waar je freest. Het frezen 26

mag natuurlijk niks beschadigen en daarom moet je zien wat je doet; echt die schijf kunnen 27

zien. Er waren machines met kappen waar je niet door heen kon kijken, en je zag dus niet 28

direct wat je aan het frezen was waardoor deze direct afvielen. Uiteindelijk is gekozen voor de 29

meest hanteerbare machine en de [...] beste stofzuiger. Dan kijk je ook naar [...] hoe vangt 30

deze het materiaal op. We hebben nu gekozen voor een stofzuiger waar een soort van 31

vooropvanger op zit die het grovere opvangt, dat komt in een soort cycloon en valt vervolgens 32

in een huis-, tuin- en keukenvuilniszak. Vervolgens heb je een emmer vol, nog net goed te 33

tillen en de zak blijft heel. Het hele fijne stof wat vooral voor binnen van belang is, wordt nog 34

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42 fijnstoffilter. En dat filter kan je ook nog eens afzuigen/afkloppen; dat doe je buiten en dan is 36

die ook herbruikbaar (ook op andere machines die ze hebben). 37

Waar heb je gekeken om deze machines te kopen? 38

De meeste bedrijven die hier een demo hebben [...] gegeven hebben maar één product in hun 39

assortiment. Er is enkel gekeken naar partijen die één merk leveren. 40

Waren er ervaringen met bepaalde merken? 41

Voor Makita hebben we toevallig de stofkappen besteld, maar er zijn ook een aantal andere 42

merken waar deze stofkappen op passen. We zijn nogal fan van doorslijpmachines van 43

Makita dus we hadden deze al en het hielp wel dat deze kappen van Makita waren.

44

Hielp het dat het Makita was? 45

Het was voor ons geen issue dat het van hetzelfde merk zou moeten zijn. Het meest 46

belangrijke is dat [~] de machine [~] hanteerbaar was. Het zijn best enorme kappen en je 47

moet kunnen zien waar je de frees inzet. 48

Hoe belangrijk waren de kosten? 49

Kosten zijn altijd een issue;het is altijd een afweging die er gemaakt moet worden en deze 50

proberen wij altijd nauwkeurig af te meten. [~] In dit geval worden de machines dagelijks 51

gebruikt, moest het topklasse zijn. [...] Heb je andere machines die je maar een paar keer per 52

jaar gebruikt, moeilijk zijn in te huren en de huur prijs dusdanig hoog is, dan zullen we ook 53

deze machine aanschaffen en zeker overwegen. Maar dit hoeft niet altijd het topsegment te 54

zijn. 55

Is leasen overwogen? 56

[...] Leasen hebben we niet eens overwogen [...]. Leasen was volgens mij niet mogelijk bij dit 57

type machine; dat betreft meer de grote machines dus dat hebben we niet overwogen. 58

Zijn de eindgebruikers betrokken bij het proces? 59

Niet allemaal maar enkele van de eindgebruikers zijn er gedeeltelijk bij betrokken. In eerste 60

instantie heb ik samen met onze werkplaatsman en uitvoerder een aantal machines 61

geselecteerd en toen zijn er een man of 1 tot 4 bij betrokken die [...] het later in handen 62

hebben. Die moesten er mee werken en er dus achter staan, dat is natuurlijk belangrijk. 63

Eerder werd aangegeven dat er een voorkeur is om alles uit de buurt te betrekken. 64

Klopt dat? 65

We doen zaken hier in de omgeving en onze klanten zitten in de regio dus we proberen ook

66

zoveel mogelijk dingen in te kopen in de regio. De drie noordelijke provincies vallen hier dan

67

(43)

43 After the interview some stories and anecdotes arose and were directly reported on 69

after the interview. 70

Een plaatselijk algemene directeur heeft een zoon die regelmatig voor ze werkt. Deze zoon 71

levert echter geen topwerk maar moet af en toe aangenomen worden om goodwill te behouden 72

bij de plaatselijke groothandel. Dat zijn dingen die soms gebeuren. 73

Een stukadoor had troep achtergelaten en leverde wel vaker problemen op en na regelmatig 74

wat incidenten wordt deze waarschijnlijk losgelaten. Er zijn meer stukadoren waar ze altijd 75

uit kiezen dus één minder is geen ramp. 76

Hij had recentelijk iemand in dienst genomen op basis van een persoonlijke aanbeveling van 77

een andere werknemer. Dit viel helaas wat minder goed uit en deze persoon moest worden 78

laten gegaan. Uiteindelijk gaf hij aan dat personeel huren nog lastiger is omdat je moeilijk kan 79

inschatten wat hun kwaliteiten zijn en of wat ze beloven ook werkelijk waar is. 80

Een van de leveranciers van het stofvrij gereedschap kwam onvoorbereid, er waren nog

81

slangenklemmen en schroevendraaiers nodig om de boel in elkaar te zetten. Dit zorgde ervoor 82

dat ondanks de presentatie er geen offerte werd aangevraagd.

83

Biases in the Purchasing Process