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Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, has radically redesigned how customers and organizations procure products and services via the Internet (Yoo & Jang, 2019). The growing penetration of the Internet has driven the development, implementation, adoption, and rapid growth of e-commerce in the last two decades (Bai & Li, 2022). The contemporary platform-based e-commerce model is well supported by emerging technologies such as software-as-a-service, big data analytics, cloud and fog computing, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and extended reality (Bai & Li, 2022; Ilmudeen, 2021). These emerging digital technologies have provided the necessary impetus and growth opportunities for various e-commerce models like business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), consumer-to-consumer (C2C), and business-to-government (B2G). At an individual level, e-commerce is revolutionizing consumers’ convenience, experience, and satisfaction with online shopping via websites and apps (Bilgihan, Kandampully, & Zhang, 2016; Lai, Ulhas, & Lin, 2014; Nisar & Prabhakar, 2017). There has been a significant increase in the number of consumers preferring to shift to online e-commerce marketplaces due to the vast choices available online, the ubiquity and interactivity of the platform, the rich product information accessibility, and the features for product and service personalization (Gunasekaran, Marri, McGaughey, & Nebhwani, 2002; Ho & Chuang, 2023). In addition, the disintermediation effect of e-commerce creates a greater incentive for consumers to purchase the products quickly and efficiently at a reduced transaction cost (Sen & King, 2003).
At an organizational level, e-commerce has led to a fundamental shift in interorganizational coordination among buyer-seller organizations for competitive sourcing of products and services (Chandrasekar Subramaniam, 2002; Dai & Kauffman, 2002). The other potential benefits of B2B e-procurement using e-commerce platforms include improved efficiency and productivity, transaction cost savings, increased effectiveness, and significant productivity gains (Claycomb, Iyer, & Germain, 2005; Kshetri & Dholakia, 2002). Research has reported that B2B e-commerce is growing faster than B2C e-commerce as leading organizations collaborate to transform the interorganizational transactions for e-procurement (Gunasekaran, McGaughey, Ngai, & Rai, 2009; Ho & Chuang, 2023; Kshetri & Dholakia, 2002). B2B e-commerce plays a vital role in improving the business performance of interorganizational supply chain management, which is an essential antecedent in gaining a competitive advantage (Baršauskas, Šarapovas, & Cvilikas, 2008).
The e-commerce evolution has also impacted government procurement, where government organizations have started leveraging e-commerce platforms to reduce transaction costs, gain operational efficiency, and ensure transparency (Skare, Gavurova, & Rigelsky, 2023). Public procurement refers to the purchase of goods and services by government organizations or state-owned public enterprises (Raymond, 2008). However, the procurement process of government organizations is strategically different when compared to business organizations because government organizations have different strategic goals (Purchase, Goh, & Dooley, 2009). Purchase et al. (2009) report that the strategic objectives in public procurement are focused on ensuring fairness, inclusiveness, accountability, transparency, equality, balanced public interests, and democratic values. Hence, public procurement by government organizations is a complex process requiring operational efficiency, transparency, cost-saving, and inclusiveness (Adjei-Bamfo, Maloreh-Nyamekye, & Ahenkan, 2019; Guarnieri & Gomes, 2019; Knutsson & Thomasson, 2014). In addition, government and public sector organizations are bulk buyers who are governed and controlled by auditors to ensure fair business practices and safeguard the public interest.