The internationalization of purchasing processes in HEIs

Abstract

Community Higher Education Institutions (HEICs) are non-profit institutions that carry out essentially educational activities (teaching, research and extension).They have a strong presence in society, working in the research and promoting development. In the exercise of its activities, sometimes, it needs to acquire foreign materials or equipments of load of the HEI, centralizing these actions in the sector of supplies or purchases. The aims of the study are to identify and analyze the characteristics of the purchasing process in the Community HEIs. The methodological procedures applied to this study were carried out through an exploratory research, with a qualitative approach to the case study. A data collection was performed by a means of face-to-face interviews and individuals in-depth supported by a semi-structured script. The results show difficulties of the HEI in day-to-day management mainly due to the intensity and diversity of operations and the ability to use the computerized system. Regarding importation the difficulty is related to the high value processes, unique and with many specificities, besides the difficulties arising from the imperfections of the applicants' purchase requests.