Users’ Perception Regarding the Effect of E-Procurement Practice on Customer Satisfaction in Public Procurement in Tanzania

Abstract

E-procurement is a technological system that was introduced for the purpose of increasing efficiency in procurement. Following emergent of this new technology people within the organization (users) had some expectations regarding performance improvement in procurement as compared to the old manual procurement system. In this view, this study aimed at examining users' perception on the effect of e-procurement practice on customer satisfaction in public procurement. The study adopted explanatory sequential mixed method involving both quantitative and qualitative data that were collected in two different phases. The population of study included user staff working in five selected procuring entities whereby questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data from respondents who were approached by using simple random sampling technique. Also, interview guide was used to collect qualitative data from Heads of Departments whereby the obtained data were analyzed by using content analysis. In order to determine user's satisfaction on procurement service delivery, data were analyzed in two steps: first, the mean difference between perception and expectation of customers was computed (P-E). The obtained value was divided by total number of items to get index score for each service quality dimension. Then, the index score was divided by the five service quality dimensions to get the overall index score. Second, Binary Logistics Regression Model was applied to estimate the effect of independent variable (Tangibility, Responsiveness, Reliability, Empathy and Assurance) on dependent variable (customer satisfaction). The study concluded that there is a significant relationship between use of e-procurement and increase in customer satisfaction in procurement. Therefore, it is recommended that chief executive officers in public organizations should take e-procurement as a solution to improve service delivery to their customers.

PUBLICSERV: Quality assessment scale for public services

“…Furthermore, in several attempts to apply SERVQUAL or SERV-PERF to the public service context, the need for adaptation and creation of items is clearly observed (Akdere et al, 2020;Butkus et al, 2023;Dung, 2021;Jou et al, 2023;Maagi & Mwakalobo, 2023;Moura e Sá et al, 2021;Sharma & Al Sinawi, 2021;Sohail & Hasan, 2021). Some examples among the various proposed indicators are those related to transparency (Lim & Lee, 2021;López-Lemus, 2023;Tanny & Zafarullah, 2023;Witesman et al, 2022), doing the right thing for the country (Ali AlShehail et al, 2022;Bucaite Vilke & Vilkas, 2018;Chien & Thanh, 2022;López-Lemus, 2023;Tanny & Zafarullah, 2023), and civil servants' ethics and capacity (Chien & Thanh, 2022;López-Lemus, 2023;Tanny & Zafarullah, 2023).…”

“…Tangible aspects represent the first dimension, which was structured with nine items, whose aim is to identify the user's perception of the physical characteristics of the public body. In this sense, several studies use the tangible aspects dimension to evaluate physical facilities, equipment, general appearance, accommodations, communication, and information technologies, among others (Jou et al, 2023;Luyen & Thanh, 2022;Maagi & Mwakalobo, 2023;Riani, 2023;Sulemana et al, 2023). For Jou et al (2023), tangible aspects contribute to the perception of the experience in an efficient, empowered, and positive way, being highly significant for the quality of the service.…”

“…responsiveness deals with service that responds to users' needs, and empathy, in turn, deals with individualized attention given to users, demonstrating their importance. Furthermore, responsiveness considers that feedback at the right time leads to user satisfaction, and empathy demonstrates care, attention, listening, and building good relationships (Jou et al, 2023;Maagi & Mwakalobo, 2023). Relationship covers communication with the user in general to meet their needs and expectations (Maagi & Mwakalobo, 2023).…”

Do internet marketing capabilities interact with the effect of procedural capabilities for public procurement participation on SMEs’ sales performance?

“…This means, procedural capabilities are documented to have high chances for increasing rates of public procurement participation among SMEs (Flynn and Davis, 2017). With the current trends of moving from manual procurement procedures towards e-procurement procedures (Maagi and Mwakalobo, 2023;Shatta et al, 2020), one can argue that internet marketing capabilities can possibly strengthen the effects of procedural capabilities for SMEs' participation in public procurement on their sales performance. Thus, by having enough internet marketing capabilities, SMEs may accomplish an added strategic purpose by optimising relationships with procuring entities as customers of their products through internet-based platforms as well as develop new relationships with procuring entities during tendering processes.…”

“…E-business practices have become an appealing option as organisations' reliance on technology for business operations has grown. The public procurement system is currently shifting away from traditional manual and paper-based processes and towards online applications, which has benefited both buying organisations and suppliers (Kit et al, 2021;Maagi and Mwakalobo, 2023;Shatta et al, 2020;Soong et al, 2020). This shift has drawn e-business practices and the use of technologies to assist SMEs in running their operations.…”