E-Procurement: Myth or Reality

Governments across the globe appear to identify and tout technology as a way to transform how they govern. Public procurement is at the forefront of most reform efforts given that it plays a significant role in promoting accountability and transparency. This study relies on survey data of procurement professionals to delineate the current status of e- procurement implementation in United States and Canada. Findings suggest that digitalized public procurement has not yet led to significant transformative changes. Unsuitability of software platforms, organizational resistance, lack of strategic systems' integration and failure to involve public procurement professionals in the design of e-procurement systems were identified as the primary obstacles of effectively implementing digital procurement. These findings suggest that in order to capitalize on the potentially transformative nature of ICT in procurement, policymakers, system designers, and procurement professionals must take an active role in both the design of the software and its adoption across political, institutional and behavioral domains.