Moderating role of top management support in electronic procurement usage of Jordanian firms

Ahmad Marei,Sameer M. Al-Jabaly,Marhaiza Ibrahim,Luay Daoud

doi:10.5267/j.msl.2020.11.027

Abstract

The use of e-procurement aids organisations in reducing business costs, broadening their market access and simplifying purchasing processes. However, in Jordan, only 27.6% of firms utilise e-procurement systems. Hence, the usage of e-procurement systems by Jordanian firms is still in its infancy. In this work, the technology, organisation and environment (TOE) factors affecting the use of e-procurement systems by large firms in Jordan were investigated. Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings with regard to the antecedent factors that may affect e-procurement usage. Therefore, this work aimed to determine the factors related to e-procurement usage and whether or not top management support moderates the relationship between TOE factors and e-procurement usage. Results revealed that all TOE factors used in this study influenced the e-procurement usage of the firms. Moreover, the moderating role of top management support was found to be positively related to relative advantages and organisational readiness and negatively related to complexity.

Highlights

E-procurement is described as the process in which organisations utilise information technology (IT) to acquire goods or services at the business-to-business (B2B) level (Amman Stock Exchange Report, 2016)
The primary objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of TOE variables on e-procurement usage
Top Management Support (TMS) was assigned the moderator between TOE variables and e-procurement usage

Summary

Introduction

E-procurement is described as the process in which organisations utilise information technology (IT) to acquire goods or services at the business-to-business (B2B) level (Amman Stock Exchange Report, 2016). E-procurement opens up avenues for management to increase profitability and competitiveness through effective purchase order, expanded supplier bases, streamlined purchase payment and mitigated costs (Daoud & Ibrahim, 2017). Given their potential advantages, e-procurement systems are purchased by numerous firms around the globe for their survival in a dynamic and competitive market. De Boer Harink and Heijboer (2002) enumerated several functions of such systems, including e-sourcing, e-tendering, e-information, e-auction, e-collaboration, e-MRO and web-based enterprise resource planning (ERP). Over three-quarters of that volume was produced by the U.S, China, Japan, and the UK (Information economic report, 2015) These events indicate the more accelerated growth of e-procurement in developed countries than in developing ones

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