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There are Increasing applications of e-procurement by government along with active e-commerce by the private sector in an advanced information society. The Korea e-Procurement System (G2B) is recognized as a successful example of substantially enhancing procurement process efficiency by making it transparent and professional. An analytic work is needed to systematically assess the functionality and role of the system. This paper's purpose is the exploratory study on a mature indicator of evaluation of public e-procurement systems. This paper compares Korea’s case with those of the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand to show that in Australia and New Zealand, which are adopting a as dispersive supply method, the e-procurement system is not developed on a large scale in comparison with the US and Korea that are adopting a central supply method. There are some differences among the four countries according to the trait of their procurement institution and base value in terms of capability of system. Different usefulness for e-procurement depends on the public procurement institution in each country. This paper suggests that eprocurement systems can be used helping purchasing goods and services most reasonably. This paper can help us evaluating substantial value of eprocurement system clearly.

Scholarly research on e-procurement has been limited and, like e-government, e-procurement has been researched primarily from the perspective of adoption/non-adoption. This paper aims to focus on public administration employees’ perceptions of the quality of národní elektronický nástroj (NEN) – the Czech national e-procurement tool they are required to use.

The paper is based primarily on statistical analysis of data obtained through two questionnaire surveys addressed to contacts from of all Czech central state administration bodies using NEN; 175 completed questionnaires were gathered in 2020 and 128 in 2022 and subjected to statistical analysis in SPSS.

NEN was launched as fully operational in August 2015. The research indicates that in 2022 there were still important gaps in the quality of NEN as perceived by public employees.

The paper has important practical implications for e-procurement policymakers. It shows that making the e-procurement system compulsory is not sufficient. The government needs to guarantee that it would be competitive with tools that would otherwise be preferred. Otherwise, the application of the digital-by-default principle may lead to institutionalisation of services that are not user-friendly. This has important implications for e-government/e-procurement management and change management.

Little is known about public employees’ perceptions of the quality of e-government and e-procurement. Although e-procurement is an area where the digital-by-default principle was implemented rather early, the quality of e-procurement has still received limited attention in research.

At all levels of government, inconsistencies exist regarding the terminology and the body of knowledge used to understand public procurement. Perspectives on what public procurement is, or should be, ranges from routine ordering to sophisticated analysis of government spending. Definitional ambiguities have hampered attempts to define the field and unify its focus. This exploratory article examines the implications of the muddled nature of public procurement that has led to debate and uncertainty about the proper role of public procurement practitioners. To address these limitations, three dimensions of all public procurement systems are identified, and a general definition is proposed for describing the field and its institutionalized practices.

The purpose of this paper is to present and analyze the different concepts of centralized and decentralized procurement methods; identify the advantages and disadvantages of each method and the two methods of public procurement applied in the Arab Republic of Egypt in an attempt to overcome the disadvantages of the Egyptian system; and introduce a new framework for government procurement in Egypt.

The descriptive approach was used in the framework of the presentation and analysis of the concepts of centralized public procurement and decentralized public procurement. The comparative approach was used for presenting some of the experiences of countries in using public procurement methods. The legal approach was also used in the analysis of the legal frameworks governing the public procurement methods in the Arab Republic of Egypt. In addition, the case study methodology was used to study the role of the General Authority for Governmental Services in Egypt in the centralized public procurement processes.

This paper attempts to find the ideal method of public procurement in general and what is the method to be followed in the Egyptian case through the data presented and analysis of the Egyptian public procurement system.

This paper attempts to present a model or a theory on how to determine the public procurement methods that should be used in a given country and give sufficient flexibility for the conformity between the two methods upon application depending on the ecological factors of each country.

This paper contributes to the development of the public procurement method in the Arab Republic of Egypt by showing the gap between the use of the centralized approach and the decentralized approach at all levels and providing solutions to bridge this gap.

This paper provides implications to reduce corruption, increase transparency and give the opportunity to the largest number of private shareholders to participate in public procurement.

Although there is some literature on centralized and decentralized public procurement, there is a lack or scarcity of research and academic articles on this subject (Patrucco et al., 2017). This paper attempted to do so by filling this gap in this area of research.

The article examines the extent that public procurement in Singapore remains under centralized control and how much has been delegated to the line agencies, which are the recipients of the goods and services purchased. The article shows that Singapore has adopted a mixed hybrid model of public procurement. Procedural rules and evaluation criteria relating to procurement are imposed by centralized authorities, which also undertake bulk purchasing. Operational functions such as interpreting the rules and criteria, making purchasing decisions and awarding contracts are performed by the line agencies. The balance thus achieved between centralization and delegation arises from the desire to meet the divergent requirements that shape the government procurement system.

Public agencies have started to shift away from the traditional lowest responsive and responsible bid to other approaches in purchasing certain items and services. These alternative approaches emphasize the quality of the products and the qualifications of the vendors. The purpose of this article is to explore the use qualifications-based selection (QBS) and other non-traditional source selection methods in public procurement processes. An online survey was sent out to 1665 members of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, and a mail survey sent a random sample to 300 American Public Works Association members. The survey results show that while the traditional lowest responsive and responsible bidding is still the dominant selection method when all procurement is considered, QBS and other non-traditional methods have gained wide acceptance and use in public agencies, especially for the purchase of professional services and information technology.

The contribution of planning in facilitating an efficient and effective performance of public sector organizations is generally undisputed in both developed and developing countries. Its contribution can be at both central and local government levels of public sector management. This article examines the relationship between procurement planning and accountability of local government procurement systems in Uganda. The findings arose from a study that was conducted among 99 local government stakeholders selected from 11 Districts of Uganda, using a correlation research design. The data was analyzed using principal component factor analysis that aimed at identifying the critical components of procurement planning and accountable local governments systems in Uganda. Consequently, correlation analysis to establish the direction and magnitude to which the two variables were related was conducted and results are presented. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between procurement planning and accountable local government procurement systems in Uganda. These results are compared to international research findings, and suggestions are offered for management, policy making, future research and efficient accountable local government operations.

This paper aims to inform strategies to enhance public procurement opportunities for women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To do so, the study examines two research questions: To what extent are women-owned enterprises under-represented among SME suppliers to government; and Do barriers to public procurement – as perceived by SME owners – differ across gender?

The study draws on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and on theories of role congruity and social feminism to develop the study’s hypotheses. Empirical analyses rely on comparisons of a sample of 1,021 SMEs that had been suppliers to government and 9,376 employer firms that had not been suppliers to government. Data were collected by Statistics Canada and are nationally representative. Logistic regression analysis was used to control for systemic firm and owner differences.

Controlling firm and owner attributes, majority women-owned businesses were underrepresented as SME suppliers to government in some, but not all sectors. Women-owned SMEs in Wholesale and Retail and in Other Services were, ceteris paribus, half as likely as to be government suppliers as counterpart SMEs owned by men. Among Goods Producers and for Professional, Scientific and Technical Services SMEs, there were no significant gender differences in the propensity to supply the federal government. “Complexity of the contracting process” and “difficulty finding contract opportunities” were the obstacles to contracting cited most frequently.

The limitations of using secondary analyses of data are well documented and apply here. The findings reflect only the perspectives of “successful bidders” and do not capture SMEs that submitted bids but were not successful. Furthermore, the survey did not include questions about sub-contractor enterprises, data that would likely provide even more insights about SMEs in government supply chains. Accordingly, the study could not address sub-contracting strategies to increase the number of women-owned businesses on government contracts. Statistics Canada’s privacy protocols also limited the extent to which the research team could examine sub-groups of small business owners, such as visible minorities and Indigenous/Aboriginal persons. It is also notable that much of the SME literature, as well as this study, define gender as a dichotomous (women/female, men/male) attribute. Comparing women/female and men/males implicitly assumes within group homogeneity. Future research should use a more inclusive definition of gender. Research is also required to inform about the obstacles to government procurement among the population of SMEs that were unsuccessful in their bids.

The study provides benchmarks on, and directions to, enhance the participation of women-owned SMEs or enterprises in public procurement. Strategies to support women-owned small businesses that comply with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are advanced.

The study offers insights to reconcile economic efficiency and social (gender equity) policy goals in the context of public procurement. The “policy-practice divides” in public procurement and women’s enterprise policies are discussed.

The study is among the first to use a feminist lens to examine the associations between gender of SME ownership and public procurement, while controlling for other salient owner and firm attributes.

Developing countries face a problem of making a decision of opening up public procurement markets to all suppliers irrespective of their country of origin. The perceived benefit of opening up procurement markets (non-discriminatory practices) is that it enhances competitiveness, leading to efficient public resources utilisation. Governments discriminating against foreign firms in favour of local suppliers are motivated by the desire to achieve benefits such as, stimulating infant industries, fostering underdeveloped regions and creating employment. This paper examines both arguments and makes recommendations as to how developing countries could open up procurement markets without losing their social and economic objectives.