Research of Factors Affecting Satisfaction in E-Procurement

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Theoretical background: Nowadays, the development of digital technologies, including e-service portals in the public procurement, is crucial for improving purchasing processes and expanding markets for companies, including family businesses. Understanding the factors influencing satisfaction with the use of e-procurement is important for optimizing these processes and improving work efficiency. In the context of public procurement, such studies are few. None of the publications found results of research combining the areas of business family, e-procurement, and user experience. This shows that there is a research gap related to the experiences of employees of family businesses and their interactions with e-procurement for public area, especially in the context of the impact of UX on the efficiency and satisfaction of procurement processes in the public sector. Purpose of the article: The main objective of the study, of which results are presented below, is to develop a model of key factors and the relationships between them that influence the efficiency of work in an e-procurement dedicated to public area. Despite the numerous benefits of using e-procurement, there are also many challenges and barriers that can affect the level of satisfaction of employees using these types of solutions, including in the procurement area. Understanding the factors that influence satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the use of e-procurement is crucial for improving procurement processes and work efficiency. In the application area, the research results can be helpful for creators and suppliers of e-procurement, enabling them to tailor their solution to the specific needs of family business employees. Research methods: In order to examine the factors of satisfaction with the use of e-procurement in the public area, a survey was conducted among contractors submitting offers in public procurement procedures. The online survey was sent to over 10,000 business entities, obtaining 406 correctly completed responses, including 109 from family businesses. The analysis of the obtained results allowed, among others, to identify satisfaction factors in the use of e-procurement. Main findings: In a study assessing the use of e-procurement in the public area, respondents rated their digital competences on average at 4.7 on a scale of 1–6, indicating high digital skills. Intuitiveness of use and ease of searching for advertisements turned out to be crucial for satisfaction with e-procurement, which emphasizes the importance of good UX practice in the design of these tools. Respondents also highly rated functions such as automatic encryption of offers and the ability to create an electronic signature, which affects the security and efficiency of purchasing processes. Surprisingly, training for users of e-procurement was considered less important, which may be due to the already high digital competences of the respondents.