A Comparative Analysis of Sole Source versus Competitive Prices in the Acquisition of Weapon System Replenishment Spare Parts

摘要

Competition is the law of the land in Department of Defense procurement. Yet, buyers are continually faced with uncertainty, and the Government has no specific guidelines or firm basis for deciding when to introduce competition into the acquisition process. The overall research objective was to determine the effect of competition on the prices of weapon system replenishment spare parts. Multiple regression analysis and parametric statistical tests were used to analyze procurement history data for thirty-six replenishment spare parts, which were purchased by the Air Force Logistics Command. Price changes were attributed to three factors: inflation, order quantity, and competition. Five research hypotheses were formulated and tested to address three major research issues. Generally, the research findings contradict the results of previous empirical research and competition theory.