Jul 2026· Journal of Social Science· Vol 9, pp. 62-76· 0 citations· 14 references
TL;DR
Although digital transformation has the potential to revolutionize public procurement and strengthen good governance in South African municipalities, its success depends on strategic leadership, investment in digital infrastructure, capacity building, and the development of effective regulatory frameworks.
Abstract
This study explores the opportunities and challenges associated with digital transformation in public procurement within South African municipalities. The article is grounded in the understanding that traditional procurement systems are often characterized by inefficiency, excessive paperwork, procurement delays, limited transparency, and vulnerability to corruption and financial mismanagement. Consequently, municipalities are turning to digital technologies such as e-procurement platforms, electronic tendering systems, digital supplier databases, and automated workflow systems to modernize procurement processes. The study adopts a qualitative research approach based on a review of existing literature on government reports, policy documents, and scholarly publications related to digital governance and public procurement in South Africa. The findings reveal that digital transformation in public procurement presents significant opportunities for municipalities, including improved procurement efficiency, reduced administrative costs, enhanced transparency, strengthened accountability, faster service delivery, and better monitoring of procurement activities. However, the study further identifies several challenges such as inadequate digital infrastructure, limited financial resources, shortage of technical skills, resistance to organizational change, cybersecurity risks, unreliable internet connectivity, and weak institutional capacity hindering the successful implementation of digital procurement systems in South African municipalities. The study concludes that although digital transformation has the potential to revolutionize public procurement and strengthen good governance in South African municipalities, its success depends on strategic leadership, investment in digital infrastructure, capacity building, and the development of effective regulatory frameworks. The study recommends increased investment in digital skills training, stronger cybersecurity measures, and improved collaboration between government and technology stakeholders to ensure sustainable and effective digital procurement systems in local government.
Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) has become a critical digital governance mechanism for enhancing transparency, accountability, efficiency, and competitiveness in public procurement. However, the effectiveness of e-procurement depends not only on technological implementation but also on institutional readiness, operational capacity, and supportive regulatory frameworks. This study investigates the implementation challenges of the e-GP system within the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) of Bangladesh and identifies strategies for improving procurement governance. A qualitative research approach was employed through Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) involving 206 Procurement Entity (PE) officers representing various procurement roles, including PE users, Tender Opening Committee (TOC) members, administrators, and Tender Evaluation Committee (TEC) members. The findings reveal that although e-GP has improved procurement digitalization, approximately 86% of respondents continue to experience challenges related to procurement time, operational processes, system functionality, and institutional procedures. Key challenges include lengthy tender evaluation processes, excessive documentation requirements, and delayed financial clearance, incomplete digitalization of evaluation activities, weak document verification, and coordination difficulties among procurement committees. The study also identifies governance challenges, including limited participation of small and medium contractors, and continued dependence on physical documentation. These findings indicate that digital procurement transformation requires more than technological adoption; it requires integrated institutional and governance reforms. The study recommends strengthening system reliability, automating procurement processes, improving effective banking integration, expanding user training, and developing competitive procurement mechanisms to transform e-GP into a comprehensive digital procurement governance system.
M. Rashid, Mohammad Shorif Uddin, S. Begum· International Journal of Eng...· 0 citations
Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of e-procurement transparency practices on procurement efficiency in county governments.
Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low-cost advantage as compared to field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries.
Findings: The findings indicate that E-Procurement Transparency Practices significantly improve Procurement Efficiency by enhancing transparency, accountability, supplier participation, regulatory compliance, and access to procurement information while reducing procurement delays, costs, paperwork, and opportunities for corruption. However, their effectiveness depends on adequate ICT infrastructure, employee competence, management support, supplier readiness, and regulatory compliance. The review also identified conceptual, contextual, and geographical gaps, as most previous studies focused on general e-procurement or procurement performance rather than the specific impact of E-Procurement Transparency Practices on Procurement Efficiency in county governments, highlighting the need for further context-specific research.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework, institutional theory may be used to anchor future studies on analyze the impact of e-procurement transparency practices on procurement efficiency in county governments. County procurement departments should invest in continuous staff training, supplier sensitization programmers, cybersecurity, and modern information and communication technology infrastructure to improve system reliability, transparency, and user confidence. National and county governments should strengthen procurement legislation and regulatory frameworks by making the implementation of comprehensive E-Procurement Transparency
James Mwangi· Global Journal of Purchasing...· 0 citations
Public procurement is widely recognized as a sensitive and high-risk area for corruption and inefficiency, often affected by opacity and weak accountability. In Nepal, the introduction of the electronic government procurement (e-GP) system signifies a major digital governance reform aimed at enhancing transparency and procedural integrity. This study examines the impact of e GP on transparency in public procurement, focusing on information accessibility, process visibility, fair competition, and stakeholder trust. The analysis is based on survey data from 84 stakeholders, including government officials, bidders, and oversight personnel. Quantitative techniques, including Friedman Chi-square tests and ANOVA, were employed to assess perceived transparency outcomes. The findings indicate that e-GP has improved access to procurement information and strengthened procedural openness; however, challenges persist in traceability and stakeholder engagement, particularly during bidding and contract award stages. The study highlights that technological reforms alone are insufficient without complementary institutional strengthening.
Government procurement is essential to effective public service delivery but remains challenged by complex procedures, extensive documentary requirements, and operational inefficiencies. This study explored the lived experiences of procurement implementers in the City Government of Tagum to examine government procurement processes, implementation challenges, strategies, and insights for improving procurement performance. The study was anchored on the Stages Model of Public Policy and New Public Management Theory. A qualitative phenomenological research design was employed, involving 20 purposively selected procurement implementers. Data were collected using a validated researcher-developed interview guide through in-depth interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis following Colaizzi's phenomenological approach. The findings revealed that procurement implementation is characterized by procurement planning, documentary verification, procurement mode selection, digitalization, and accountability mechanisms. Major challenges included documentary inefficiencies, budget and resource constraints, workflow bottlenecks, and workforce limitations. Procurement implementers addressed these challenges through stakeholder capacity-building, monitoring and tracking mechanisms, inter-office coordination, proactive planning, legal compliance, and quality assurance. The study concludes that strengthening digital procurement systems, continuous capacity-building, stakeholder collaboration, and procurement process improvement can enhance procurement efficiency, transparency, accountability, and public service delivery. It recommends continued procurement modernization, expanded training programs, strengthened supplier engagement, enhanced inter-office collaboration, and further studies on the implementation of Republic Act No. 12009. The study mainly aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Responsible Consumption and Production by supporting sustainable public procurement practices. Its findings contribute to institutional, governance, and socio-economic sustainability by providing evidence that may strengthen procurement implementation, improve public resource management, and support responsive local governance.
Ace Angelo Crisostomo, Alger P. Dura· International Journal of Sus...· 0 citations
Public sector institutions in Kenya continue to experience inefficiencies in procurement processes, characterised by delays, high operational costs, limited transparency, and weak compliance with regulatory frameworks, despite the global recognition of digital transformation as a solution to these challenges. The extent to which digital transformation initiatives had improved procurement performance at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) remained unclear. This study determined the effect of digital transformation on the procurement performance of KRA in Kenya. The general objective of the study was to determine the relationship between digital transformation and the procurement performance of KRA. The specific objectives were to assess the influence of automation of process, examine how data analytics influences procurement performance, analyze the role of e-procurement systems, and investigate the effect of cybersecurity measures on the procurement performance of KRA. The study was anchored on the Resource-Based View, Transaction Cost Economics, Technology Acceptance Model, and Diffusion of Innovation theories. A cross-sectional survey research design was adopted, targeting a sampling frame of 150 KRA staff comprising the technical team, auditors, and management. Using Yamane's formula, a sample of 110 respondents was selected through simple random sampling. A pilot study involving 11 respondents was conducted, and all five research constructs returned Cronbach's alpha coefficients above the 0.7 threshold. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and processed in SPSS version 28, using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis. Of the 110 questionnaires distributed, 76 were completed and returned, yielding a response rate of 68.9 percent. The correlation results showed that automation of process, data analytics, e-procurement systems, and cybersecurity were each positively and significantly associated with procurement performance, with e-procurement systems recording the strongest association (r = 0.498, p<0.05). The regression results revealed that all four variables significantly predicted procurement performance, with automation of process recording the largest standardised effect (β = 0.386), followed by e-procurement systems (β = 0.357), data analytics (β = 0.189), and cybersecurity (β = 0.183); the model explained 53.9 percent of the variation in procurement performance (Adjusted R² = 0.539, F = 18.123, p<0.05). The study concluded that digital transformation significantly determines the procurement performance of the Kenya Revenue Authority in Kenya. The study recommends that KRA continue investing in integrated procurement automation and system interoperability, strengthen procurement analytics and data governance capabilities, upgrade and expand e-procurement platforms across the full procurement lifecycle, and reinforce cybersecurity through modern encryption, intrusion detection, and continuous staff awareness training.
Irene Mukiri Ng'olua, M. T. Nyambura· International journal of soc...· 0 citations
Governments are expanding sustainable public procurement to advance climate and social objectives. Integrating sustainability criteria alongside traditional purchasing requirements, however, increases decision complexity and creates persistent implementation barriers. Although digital tools can help manage this complexity, their adoption remains limited. This study draws on interviews with procurement technology developers and state and local officials in Europe and the United States to examine both the supply and demand sides of technology adoption for sustainable procurement. The findings identify four interrelated factors shaping uptake: political support, organizational capacity, internal processes, and technology framing. While prior research conceptualizes these factors as analytically distinct and co-equal drivers of adoption, the results suggest a hierarchical interpretation in which political support appears to play an important gatekeeping role. Across both leading and emergent governments, adoption remains limited despite substantial variation in resources, organizational structures, and technology framing. This finding provides empirical leverage and challenges the assumption that adoption drivers operate as parallel, co-equal factors. Political support appears to facilitate access to resources, legitimize process change, and reduce perceived risk, thereby shaping the extent to which organizational and technological factors contribute to adoption. The study advances a more politically grounded theory of technology adoption and develops five propositions that redirect research toward the institutional and political preconditions required to scale digital innovation in sustainable public procurement.
Nicole Darnall, Ankita Singh, Justin M. Stritch et al.· Frontiers in Sustainability· 0 citations
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