Public e-Procurement Perceived Impacts: the Case of Northern Portuguese SMEs

Abstract

Public e-Procurement is increasingly becoming a reality worldwide and, when duly adopted, benefits arise for all stakeholders, whether public or private entities. However, Public e-Procurement has been associated with varying levels of success and its scholarly evaluation is still very limited. This paper makes an incremental contribution to the literature by exploring the issues relating to Public e-Procurement impacts in suppliers. Following a qualitative methodology and a case-based approach involving interviews with professional managers, our study explores issues relating to Public e-Procurement's implementation benefits and barriers in Portuguese Small and Medium Enterprises. Findings provide preliminary evidence of Public e-Procurement's pioneer and holistic adoption in Portugal and factors determining its implementation within the context explored, contributing to a better understanding of e-Procurement's penetration in the public sector. Results provide useful information regarding factors affecting Public e-Procurement's adoption in the construction sector, with implications for supplier firms, platform providers and policy makers.