Betydelsen av informella processer i köpare-leverantörsrelationer vid offentlig upphandling av IT-säkerhetsprodukter

Sammanfattning: Contracts are the most common method of service delivery. The knowledge about how to effectively implement deliveries through contracts is limited. Therefore, the work examines the role of informal processes within buyer-supplier relationships in public procurement of IT security products in Sweden to better understand this issue. The work also highlights how different types of products, both simple and complex, affect the nature of these relationships. Additionally, information security is discussed as an adaptive and complex system, and transaction cost economics is presented as a theoretical framework for understanding buyer-supplier relationships in public procurement. Semi-structured interviews with decision-makers responsible for the procurement of IT security products were used to understand the subject. As a result, a gap in competence within IT security was identified in the public sector. Employees' technical expertise and informal relationships with suppliers can affect the objectivity of the procurement process. The results also demonstrate that informal relationships and individual perceptions can introduce subjectivity, despite the procurement process in Sweden being characterized by formal regulations and legally mandated objectivity. The work also discusses the role and influence of both formal and informal contracts, emphasizing the importance of informal control mechanisms such as authority and trust rather than price in the procurement of IT security products. The work highlights that informal control mechanisms are utilized to manage risks within the field of information security. To ensure an objective, efficient, and integrity-preserving procurement process, there is a need to address informal factors and promote transparent guidelines in public procurement of IT security products in Sweden.