In his doctoral dissertation, Master of Business Administration Matin Taheriruh investigates why public procurement frequently fails to realise its innovation potential despite strong policy ambitions. The findings show that meaningful interaction with suppliers is often constrained by rigid systems and competence gaps, leading to tensions and symbolic compliance. The dissertation introduces the concept of relational frictions and demonstrates how developing procedural, relational and enabling competences can help public organisations manage collaboration and enable innovation-oriented procurement in practice.
Matin Taheriruh’s doctoral dissertation Managing Interaction in Innovative Public Procurement: Developing competences for coping with relational frictions will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Management and Business at Tampere University on 6 February 2026.
The Opponent will be Professor Pauliina Ulkuniemi from the University of Oulu, Finland. The Custos will be Professor Aki Jääskeläinen from Tampere University, Finland.