Public policy and financial management through eprocurement: A practice oriented normative model for maximizing transformative impacts
| Pages | 337-363 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JOPP-13-03-2013-B004 |
| Published date | 01 March 2013 |
| Date | 01 March 2013 |
| Author | Alexandru V. Roman |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management,Politics,Public adminstration & management,Government,Economics,Public Finance/economics,Texation/public revenue |
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, VOLUME 13, ISSUE 3, 337-363 FALL 2013
PUBLIC POLICY AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT THROUGH E-
PROCUREMENT: A PRACTICE ORIENTED NORMATIVE MODEL FOR
MAXIMIZING TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACTS
Alexandru V. Roman*
ABSTRACT. Scholars have suggested that the current dynamics within the
provision of public services have shaped traditional administration into
governance by contract. Under such conditions, restructuring public
procurement, specifically within the technological capabilities available
within e-procurement, has often been associated with manifold positive
financial and policy outcomes. The supposed benefits of digitalizing public
procurement are legion, yet they are often assumed and rarely grounded in
hard evidence. Based on the results of a survey of procurement specialists
(n=499), this article suggests that in its current form e-procurement
adoption is failing to uphold the transformative benefits that it is regularly
attributed within popular discourse. An extensive literature review is
undertaken in order to construct practical understandings of the factors that
could explain the rather disappointing early developments. The paper offers
a practice oriented normative model that would increase the probability of
achieving transformative dynamics as a result of e-procurement adoption.
INTRODUCTION
The austere budgetary and economic conditions of the last
decade juxtaposed with the transformation of governance (Kettl,
2002, 2005) have fueled a search for innovative and cost saving
management and policy approaches. Globally, governments at all
levels have started to pay increased attention to public procurement
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* Alexandru V. Roman, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor, Department of
Public Administration, California State University San Bernardino. His
research interests include public management, leadership, public
procurement, ethics and public corruption.
Copyright © 2013 by PrAcademics Press
338 ROMAN
as an area of previously untapped strategic benefits. Within the
context of technological advancements, digitalizing the public
procurement process appears, at least in theory, to offer manifold
opportunities for administrative efficiencies and improved policy
outcomes.
E-procurement1 can be understood as the digitalization of
important aspects of the purchasing process, such as search,
selection, communication, bidding or awarding of contracts (Barua et
al., 2001; Sun et al., 2012); with a specific emphasis on efficiency,
transparency and policy in the public sector (Carayannis & Popescu,
2005; Walker & Brammer, 2012). The adoption of e-procurement
platforms is habitually expected to provide the framework for
improved administrative efficiency, higher levels of transparency,
accountability, sustainability and competition (see Bof & Previtali,
2007; Croom, 2000; Croom & Johnston, 2003; deBoer et al., 2002;
Hardy & Williams, 2008; Henriksen & Mahnke, 2005; Leukel &
Maniatopoulos, 2005; Mishra et al., 2007; Mota & Filho, 2011;
Varney, 2011; Walker & Brammer, 2012; Zsidisin & Ellram, 2001).
Furthermore, it is often anticipated that e-procurement platforms, as
part of e-government initiatives, would become a critical aspect of
policy implementation, management and monitoring (Bof & Previtali,
2007). Although social and policy outcomes have been targeted
through public procurement throughout history (McCrudden 2004),
this requirement has become even more prevalent since the advent
of e-procurement.
Whilst governments have dedicated great resources to digitalize
public procurement (Mota & Filho 2011; Somasundaram &
Damsgaard, 2005) the outcomes have been rather mixed. Some
initiatives achieved desired goals, while most have failed to improve
the conditions they were intended to address. In many cases, e-
procurement initiatives resulted in great financial waste
(Somasundaram & Damsgaard, 2005), decreased quality of services
(Hoque, Kirkpatrick, Londsdale, & de Ruyter, 2011) or have made
social and policy impacts an afterthought during implementation (Bof
& Previtali, 2007; Peck & Cabras, 2011). Holistically, it can be argued
that the areas associated with highest expectations that of public e-
procurement as a strategic management tool and as a policy
mechanism – might have been thus far the two most disappointing
dimensions of the efforts to digitalize public procurement (Andersen,
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