Shop Around: An Experiment on Air Force Vehicle Parts Procurement

Current procurement processes for vehicle parts vary substantially across the Air Force. Many of these parts are commercial off-the-shelf items that are procured through local vendors via a government purchase card. Understanding what guidance dictates various purchasing processes and how that guidance affects the behavior of purchasers is unknown. A mixed method approach of semi-structured interviews of purchasers at multiple bases and an experimental survey testing different sets of guidance are used to understand the effects of guidance, as well as produce recommendations for action and future research for leaders at the local and headquarters levels