A Process-Based Analysis of e-Procurement Adoption

Abstract

This article develops a model to explain the factors that impact the adoption of electronic procurement techniques from a business customer's perspective. The model was drawn from a comprehensive investigation of literature that addresses various issues in electronic procurement (e-procurement) adoption. Data were obtained from corporate Web site visitors of power tool companies in the construction industry in United States. A total of 399 completed surveys were used for analysis. After a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, it was found that e-procurement drivers and barriers can be classified into three groups: perceived drivers, perceived internal barriers, and perceived information barriers. Multiple regression analysis results show that, in general, perceived drivers were the main predictor for adoption of e-procurement techniques. Internal and information barriers, however, were significant when business customers are engaged in a new buying situation. For e-procurement solution providers, this study provides insights about how to overcome customers' potential barriers to e-procurement adoption. Results implications, research limitations, and future research are also discussed.