Understanding the incremental nature of e-procurement implementation at the state and local levels
| Pages | 5-28 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JOPP-02-01-2002-B001 |
| Date | 01 April 2002 |
| Published date | 01 April 2002 |
| Author | Susan A. MacManus |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management,Politics,Public adminstration & management,Government,Economics,Public Finance/economics,Texation/public revenue |
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1, 5-28 2002
UNDERSTANDING THE INCREMENTAL NATURE OF
E-PROCUREMENT IMPLEMENTATION AT THE STATE AND
LOCAL LEVELS
Susan A. MacManus*
ABSTRACT. Government’s e-procurement system has not caught on as
rapidly as has e-Bay! This article examines the slow implementation rate of
public e-procurement systems. It challenges the notion that efficiency gains
alone can entice governments to leave traditional procurement systems and
principles behind. Four traditional procurement principles are reexamined to see
whether they are deterrents to e-commerce: (1) low bid wins and that’s a must;
(2) separation between the vendor and user is desirable to avoid claims of
favoritism; (3) fixed price and fixed term contracts are best for government; and
(4) open access is absolutely imperative in all situations. The jury is still out as
to whether the new commerce is contingent upon a reformulation of these
principles.
INTRODUCTION
Many in both the public and private sectors have expressed high
hopes for a surge in electronic purchasing or “e-procurement” for several
years now. For example, in January 2001, Gary Lambert of
Buysense.com predicted a sharp increase following pressure from both
sectors and from the taxpayers:
Online procurement is on the ‘edge of exploding.’ I think it’s really
going to become a political agenda item very soon for a lot of public
officials, whether it’s a government-to-citizen sort of relationship
that will drive it or whether it’s the business
----------------------------
* Susan A. MacManus, Ph.D., is a Distinguished University Professor,
Department of Government & International Affairs, University of South Florida.
Her teaching and research interests are in public budgeting, public
procurement, and public policy.
Copyright © 2002 by PrAcademics Press
6 MACMANUS
6
community putting pressure on legislators and governors to offer
them a more effective way to do business.1
The appeal of e-procurement to both the public and private sectors is
the expectation of improved efficiency:
Nearly everyone recognizes the Internet’s vast potential to
remake government. Since the dawn of the Web, public officials
have promoted the notion that online transactions between
agencies and their constituents and business partners will spark
huge gains in government efficiency and user-friendliness
(Towns, 2001, p. 27).
The bottom line is that many inside and outside government wish
more public sector e-procurement systems were in place to bring buyers
and sellers together as quickly and easily as via “e-Bay.” To date, this
has not yet happened. “Should it have?” is the question.
Different Expectations
When the “e-revolution” first began, some expected it to rapidly
spread across the entire governmental landscape—national, state, and
local. Such expectations were based, at least in part, on the sharp rate of
Internet use by individuals (Weiss, 2001, p. 54) 2 and businesses.
Others were a bit more cautious from the start, well aware of a
historical distrust between the public and private sectors (MacManus,
1992b; Sinclair, 2000) and/or of the incremental nature of public policy
implementation, especially in a very complex inter- and intra-
Key Questions Surrounding Slow Pace of E-Procurement
Is patience a virtue or is the slow pace of the “e-revolution” proof of
government’s inefficiency and ineptitude? Do differences in the roles,
responsibilities, and “customers” of government and business account for
the incrementalism? And must traditional definitions of “good
purchasing practices” be updated for the e-procurement revolution to be
successful?
Focus of the Article
This article examines the implementation rate of public e-
procurement systems and policies, primarily at the state and local
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