Organizational Assimilation of E-Procurement: An Institutional Perspective and the Research Model

Abstract

The focus of the majority of research on e-procurement has been on the possible impact of e-procurement adoption on the buyer’s interaction with the suppliers, whereas very little has been discussed about e-procurement assimilation. This chapter looks beyond the decision of adoption of the technology, investigating the environmental conditions that may influence the successful assimilation of e-procurement in the public sector organizations. Using institutional theory and building on prior research on the theories of technology assimilation, this chapter investigates the institutional factors that enable higher levels of e-procurement assimilation in the public sector and also argues that the e-procurement benefits greatly depend on the operational and strategic organizational assimilation of e-procurement with different levels of success. This chapter also discusses the need to integrate other theories such as diffusion of innovation theory, transactional cost theory, and structurational theory of technology use, and proposes a holistic research model in order to investigate the antecedent conditions that are likely to influence the assimilation of public e-procurement.