A Systematic Review of Implementation Challenges in Public E-Procurement

Abstract

Challenges faced in public e-procurement implementation are not well understood despite past studies focusing on the phenomenon. This paper, which is based on a systematic literature review of academic papers, seeks to synthesize and examine the key challenges impeding public e-procurement implementation. These challenges are categorized using the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework as follows (1) Technological challenges: e-procurement acceptance and usage, disruptive innovation characteristic of e-procurement, use of digital signatures, security and privacy of technology and technical aspects of e-procurement (2) Organizational challenges: stakeholders' behavior, leaders' behavior, shortcomings in leadership, lack of training and skilled personnel, resistance to change, organizational power and politics and the creation of public value underlying e-procurement (3) Environmental/Contextual challenges: regulatory framework for public procurement, Small-and-Medium-Size Enterprise issues, and context of the country. Key e-procurement implementation challenges are grounded in human and contextual issues. So we recommend more case studies on public e-procurement implementation in the future.

Issues of e-government services quality in the digital-by-default era – the case of the national e-procurement platform in Czechia

“…It is defined as “any technology designated to facilitate the acquisition of goods by a commercial or government organization over the Internet” (Reddick, 2004). Inspired by e-business solutions (Walker and Brammer, 2012), public e-procurement is an inter-organizational system that is intended to facilitate Government-to-Business (G2B) and G2G electronic communication, information exchange and transaction support (Mohungoo et al , 2020). E-procurement is a collective term for a range of different technologies that can be used to automate the internal and external processes associated with the sourcing and ordering process of goods and services (Bof and Previtali, 2010).…”

“…2.2 E-procurement and its quality E-procurement is viewed as a disruptive innovation (Mohungoo et al, 2020). It is defined as "any technology designated to facilitate the acquisition of goods by a commercial or government organization over the Internet" (Reddick, 2004).…”

Award Price Estimator for Public Procurement Auctions Using Machine Learning Algorithms: Case Study with Tenders from Spain

“…In the literature on public procurement, an ambiguous wording is usually used, and a consensus on the terminology and concepts involved has not been reached yet (Obwegeser & Müller, 2018). Technological and organizational challenges faced during public electronic procurement processes are not well understood despite past studies focusing on these topics (Mohungoo, Brown & Kabanda, 2020). The data analysis of public tenders can provide valuable information for different stakeholders: public tendering agencies, public procurement managers, project managers, executives, politicians and, indirectly, citizens.…”

Determinants of e-procurement adoption by institutions in Kenya and Tanzania during Covid-19 era

“…However, E-procurement systems are not fully utilized in many countries since they are seen as intimidating to adopt. The benefits of E-procurement include saving time, less paper work, minimize cost, quick ordering and reduction of maverick [1,2].…”

“…In order to reduce corruption and have a substantial economic impact, Sub-Saharan African nations, have indicated interest in adopting E-procurement. Moreover, these confront a number of E-procurement implementation obstacles that, if not resolved, may delay the process and discourage committed leaders from E-procurement implementation in various institutions [2].…”