Defence of dissertation in the field of construction of economics and management, Jukka Puhto, M.Sc. (Tech.)

From local purchasing to nationwide partnership – How to select a good mainte-nance service provider?

The public examination of the doctoral dissertation of Jukka Puhto, M.Sc. (Tech.), will be held on 22 April 2016 at 12.00 at the Aalto University School of Engineering. The title of the dissertation is From local purchasing to nationwide partnership – How to select a good mainte-nance service provider?

Opponent: Professor Jukka Hallikas, Lappeenranta University of Technology

Supervisor: Assistant Professor Antti Peltokorpi, Aalto University

Electronic dissertation thesis: https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/20085

The goal of this study is to increase understanding about the selection of service provider in real estate maintenance services. The inductive approach of this study reveals that the relationship of client and service provider is one of the most important issues affecting the way clients procure maintenance services.

This dissertation provides a portfolio model for classifying buyer – service provider relationships based on buyer´s total purchasing volume and volume of purchase. The categories of the portfolio model are arm´s length relationship, site specific partnership, preferred service provider relationship and collaborative relationship. Furthermore, influence of the procurement environment and purchasing decisions are/were analyzed for establishing a buyer – service provider relationship. The results indicate that service provider selection criteria start to emphasize quality and co-operative criteria instead of price criteria when moving from arm´s length relationship to collaborative relationship. Procurement process differ also in different relationship types, and negotiation is utilized more in closer relationships.

Procurement practices of 11 Finnish companies are analyzed in this dissertation. The research method was based on multiple case study and data was collected by thematic interviews. Data was complemented by procurement documents, and it was analyzed using practices of Grounded Theory. The theoretical background was based on transaction cost economics (TCE). TCE provides a widely used conceptual framework for analyzing buyer – supplier relationships and supply chain management. Support services like real estate maintenance are not strategic function for company. The main driver in organizing maintenance activities are cost related, and usually the most cost effective alternative is selected.

This dissertation relate also to literature in the area of supply chain management, supplier selection, and facilities management. Theoretical contribution of this study is many-sided. First, study increase understanding of formation of buyer – services provider relationship in the area of facility management and the selection of services provider in different relationship types. For literature of supply chain management this study provides a new portfolio model, which takes into account also the services provider´s perspective. Regarding supplier selection literature, this study adds understanding of evaluating services providers. For transaction cost economics this study build links between conceptual framework of TCE and real estate procurement practices.

Contact information:

Jukka Puhto, managing director
BES Built Environment Services Oy
World Trade Center Helsinki
00100 Helsinki
tel. +358 50 550 1234, jukka.puhto@bes.fi