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Multiattribute Procurement Auctions: Efficiency and Social Welfare in Theory and Practice

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  • Gregory E. Kersten

    (InterNeg Research Centre, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec H3H 01A, Canada)

Abstract

One of the standard assumptions in auction theory is that preferences can be represented with quasilinear utility. This assumption is of particular significance in reverse auctions, which are used in procurement. This paper presents an analysis of quasilinear utilities and their implications. Building on observations of scholars in economics and decision sciences, who note that quasilinear preferences may be rare in practice, the paper shows that in the procurement of goods and services, price is often interrelated with costs. When preferences can be represented with convex or concave utilities, the alternatives in which the buyer's surplus is maximized are different from those that maximize social welfare. The result is that reverse auctions may cause a significant loss of social welfare, which is of particular significance for public organizations. The analysis of concave efficient frontiers in the utility space shows that it is possible to determine deals that yield greater social welfare than the winning bids. If the winning seller is willing to share the increase in utility with the buyer who faces a loss, then these alternatives can produce, for both the buyer and the seller, utility values that are higher than the utility values produced by the winning bid.

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  • Gregory E. Kersten, 2014. "Multiattribute Procurement Auctions: Efficiency and Social Welfare in Theory and Practice," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 11(4), pages 215-232, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ordeca:v:11:y:2014:i:4:p:215-232
    DOI: 10.1287/deca.2014.0299
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pham, Long & Teich, Jeffrey & Wallenius, Hannele & Wallenius, Jyrki, 2015. "Multi-attribute online reverse auctions: Recent research trends," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 242(1), pages 1-9.
    2. Gregory E. Kersten & Tomasz Wachowicz & Margaret Kersten, 2016. "Competition, Transparency, and Reciprocity: A Comparative Study of Auctions and Negotiations," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 693-722, July.
    3. Yigal Gerchak, 2016. "Procurement (Reverse) Auctions Where Service Providers have Official Ratings," International Game Theory Review (IGTR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(04), pages 1-10, December.

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