The governance evidence of e‐government procurement

Abstract

Purpose

E‐government procurement (E‐GP) can improve the traditional government procurement process. E‐GP can help decrease corruption. This research aims to present the factors of E‐GP that can create good governance in government procurement through e‐auction.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted with Thai public managers who are involved in e‐government procurement. The sample size is 169 professionals representing 67 government agencies.

Findings

There are five factors that enhance governance procurement. These relate to the transparent e‐procurement process, committed public managers and political officials, honest vendors, and specific policies and regulations. A transparent e‐procurement process has a positive effect on good governance practice, increasing cost effectiveness and accountability, and decreasing collusion among vendors. Vendor honesty has a negative impact on collusion. Supportive policy and regulations requirements improve cost effectiveness, accountability, and law enforcement.

Practical implications

E‐GP is not a guarantor of enhanced governance and reduced corruption. It requires a dedicated commitment to strong rule enforcement and penalties to achieve successful implementation of e‐government procurement.

Originality/value

Using a wide range of government agencies, the research addresses the best practices e‐government procurement governance and the benefits of good governance in terms of cost effectiveness, accountability, collusion reduction, and stringent law enforcement.

Citation

Rotchanakitumnuai, S. (2013), "The governance evidence of e‐government procurement", Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 309-321. https://doi.org/10.1108/TG-01-2013-0004