Procurement under pressure: Governance strategies in turbulent times

Public sector organizations often use contractual governance mechanisms to govern the buyer-supplier relationship. Less is known about what happens when procurement is put under pressure, and the strategies that are employed to govern procurement in turbulent times. News articles, parliamentary documents, and internal communication regarding the procurement of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 crisis were analysed to fill this gap. The findings show an initial brief shift from contractual to relational governance, followed by an attempt to return to contractual governance, albeit with different procedures. After the contract is closed, little governance strategies are applied, resulting in ‘laissez-faire’ governance.