The influence of social clauses on public procurement compliance: the moderating role of political will
Tonny Ograh, Felix OgrahPurpose
This study aims to examine how social clauses, contractual provisions promoting labor rights, local content, inclusion and health and safety – affect public procurement compliance in Ghana’s Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. It specifically investigates the moderating role of political will in bridging the gap between the formal inclusion of social clauses and their substantive enforcement, grounded in principle–agent theory.
Design/methodology/approach
A concurrent mixed-methods design was used, integrating: (1) a quantitative survey of 185 procurement stakeholders using a structured questionnaire and analyzed via partial least squares structural equation modeling; (2) qualitative insights from 36 in-depth interviews with procurement practitioners, political leaders, oversight actors and contractors and (3) documentary analysis of 120 procurement records (tender notices, bidding documents, evaluation reports, minutes and contracts) to assess actual compliance patterns. Political will was operationalized through leadership commitment, resource allocation, policy prioritization and continuity.
Findings
Social clauses are widely embedded in procurement documents (85% inclusion rate), yet substantive compliance remains critically low – only 11% of the contracts show evidence of postaward monitoring and 4% record sanctions for noncompliance. Political will significantly strengthens the relationship between social clauses and procedural (ß = 0.24) and substantive compliance (ß = 0.35), with a stronger effect on substantive outcomes. Local content clauses are most effective owing to clear legal anchoring (e.g. Public Procurement Act 914 and L.I. 2204), whereas labor and inclusion clauses suffer from vagueness and weak accountability. Monitoring and incentive alignment partially mediate the effect of political will on compliance.
Practical implications
Policymakers and procurement authorities must move beyond symbolic clause inclusion to institutionalize political will through tangible mechanisms: (1) integrating social compliance into staff performance appraisals; (2) allocating dedicated budgets for monitoring and capacity building; (3) standardizing definitions and verification protocols for social criteria; and (4) insulating procurement processes from political patronage. Donor-funded projects should be aligned with national social procurement goals to avoid policy fragmentation.
Social implications
When effectively enforced, social clauses can advance inclusive development, stimulate local economies, promote decent work and support Ghana’s Sustainable Development Goal commitments. However, without genuine political backing, they risk becoming performative gestures that reinforce inequality by enabling politically connected firms to exploit local content provisions without generating real social value. Strengthening compliance can transform public procurement into a lever for equitable and sustainable community development.
Originality/value
This study makes three key theoretical and empirical contributions: (1) it operationalizes political will as a measurable, multi-dimensional moderator, rather than a background assumption, within a principal–agent framework; (2) it provides rare mixed-methods evidence from a Global South context (Ghana), countering the dominance of high-income country studies in social procurement literature; and (3) it integrates macro-level political dynamics with micro-level bureaucratic agency through triangulated data, offering a nuanced model of how political commitment translates into on-the-ground compliance.