Barriers to the Adoption of Electronic Procurement in Public Sector Construction Projects in Zimbabwe

The construction business has evolved worldwide, with private and public entities increasingly adopting modern technology. Construction procurement constraints have partly been resolved by adopting electronic procurement systems. However, the use of electronic procurement has faced a myriad of barriers. Therefore, this study sought to determine barriers affecting the adoption of e-procurement by public construction entities in Zimbabwe. A pragmatic philosophy was adopted, with a questionnaire survey administered to registered construction consultants and contractors to collect quantitative data and interviews were conducted with procurement practitioners. The data was analysed using the normality test, chi-squared test, thematic analysis and factor analysis. The results of the univariate revealed that the top three issues affecting e-procurement adoption in public sector construction projects are the unavailability of e-procurement software, negative attitude towards the use of the technology and unavailability of information technology (IT) infrastructure. Procurement practitioners revealed similar barriers that included the lack of top management support, technical expertise, inadequate supporting infrastructure/lack of IT infrastructure for e-procurement adoption, lack of adequate procurement personnel training and inadequate legal frameworks supporting e-procurement adoption. Results from the factor analysis revealed six components that included “Training, practice and management support inadequacies”, “Organisational policy aspects”, “Technical and budgetary concerns”, “Teamwork and change issues” and “Inadequate government technical support system”. The findings revealed that public entities still need to fully embrace e-procurement in construction projects as there is much dependency on paper-based processes. Vital e-government reforms should precede the launch of e-procurement. Also, full participation and involvement of publicprivate partnerships and expertise are required to assist in the adoption of e-procurement by public construction entities.