AN ANALYSIS OF SMALL-BUSINESS CONCERNS AND NAVAL OPEN ARCHITECTURE: OPTIONS TO FACILITATE SMALL-BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY

摘要

The open architecture strategy being utilized within the Department of the Navy (DON) has been built on a foundation that Naval Open Architecture (NOA) will provide an increase in competition, a decrease in costs and present an opportunity to maximize market innovation. The Small Business Concern (SBC) is often considered the catalyst to achieving these benefits. There have been mixed reviews of NOA and there is research to suggest that there are barriers to SBC participation in the DON market. Through NOA the DON would like to foster an environment that encourages the SBC to participate in the competition for DON Contracts thus yielding benefit to the DON. However, there remain skeptics that assert that the DON is failing to maximize the benefit of SBC participation in DON markets due to barriers. The result of these real or perceived barriers limits SBC participation and as a result the DON fails to benefit from a truly competitive process. The purpose of this study is to better to understand the relationship between NOA and the role of the SBC in DON contracting. The goal of this study is to understand and provide options to the real or perceived barriers SBCs encounter in NOA.