Exploring the uptake and application of electronic procurement to central and local government

In recent years, the private sector has witnessed a surge of interest in the potential of the Internet as a medium for managing procurement and purchasing. As a result, many commercial organisations have already reported very significant benefits. Some governmental agencies have also recognised the potential benefits of e-procurement, but relatively little progress has been made towards its wider adoption, within the public sector. The research presented in this paper attempts to help remedy this situation by presenting and empirically testing an embryonic e-procurement adoption model, for use in the public sector. The model has been derived from the extant literature, and draws heavily on institutional theory, and the testing of the model has been accomplished using the detailed case study of a UK-based governmental department. The use of Institutional theory has been particularly useful, as it helps to show how the adoption of e-procurement can be framed as a competition between the internal forces of inertia pitted against the external pressure for change.