From market-taking to market stewarding: the case for market shaping by public sector buyers

Evidence that public procurement is evolving from passive market-taking toward active market shaping is growing but fragmented, and the conceptual frameworks needed to guide this shift remain underdeveloped. In this study, market stewarding within public procurement is defined as proactive market shaping by public buyers aimed at delivering public value through fostering healthy supplier markets. To construct and elaborate this novel research phenomenon, we follow Alvesson and Sandberg’s (2024) five iterative stages of phenomenon construction. By synthesising insights from market shaping, public value, and public procurement research with examples from public sector policy and practice, we clarify and justify this phenomenon and connect it to related academic fields. We contribute to the literature by elaborating the phenomenon and defining the attributes of healthy supplier markets, establishing their cultivation as the core mechanism through which market stewarding delivers public value. We further distinguish between directive and collective forms of market stewarding, reflecting how buyer power and governance structures shape its enactment. The concept of market stewarding links previously fragmented theories and practices, highlighting its potential to unify fragmented theory and practice, and the need for further research into its implications and efficacy in the public sector.