Modeling the influence patterns of barriers to electronic procurement technology usage in construction projects

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the dynamic influences of clustered barriers that hinder electronic procurement technology (EPT) implementation in construction procurement, using the neuro-fuzzy system.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive literature review was conducted and 21 barriers to EPT implementation within construction projects were identified. Based on an expert survey, 121 datasets were gathered for this study. Using mean and normalization analysis for the datasets, 15 out of the 21 barriers were deemed to have critical influences in EPT barriers phenomenon. Subsequently, the critical barriers were classified into five groups: human-related; technological risk-related; government-related; industry growth-related; and financial-related. The relationships and influence patterns between the groups of barriers to EPT implementation were analyzed using the neuro-fuzzy system. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis was performed to examine the dynamic influence levels of the barriers within the hindrance level composition.FindingsThe results reveal that addressing one barrier group does not reduce the high levels of hindrances experienced in EPT implementation. However, addressing at least two barrier groups mostly tends to reduce the hindrance levels for EPT implementation. Further, this study revealed that addressing some barrier group pairings, such as technological risk-related and government-related barriers, while other barrier groups remained at a high level, still resulted in high levels of hindrances to EPT implementation in construction procurement.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides insights for researchers to help them contribute to the development of theory with contemporary approaches based on the influence patterns of barrier interrelationships.Practical implicationsThis study provides a model that would help practitioners and decision makers in construction procurement to understand and effectively determine the complex and dynamic influences of barrier groups to EPT uptake, for the development of suitable mitigation strategies.Originality/valueThis study provides novel insights into the complex influence patterns among grouped barriers concerning EPT adoption in the construction industry. Researchers and practitioners are equipped with knowledge on the influence patterns of barriers. This knowledge aids the development of effective strategies that mitigate the combined groups of barriers, and promote the wider implementation of EPT in the construction industry.

Challenges in the Integration of E-Procurement Procedures into Construction Supply Chains

“…Digital transformation and automation in the procurement process in the construction supply chain can be achieved via Internet-based technologies such as e-procurement or e-commerce [28,43]. As an inseparable part of data-driven supply chain management [44], e-procurement can be defined as a web-based application enhancing packages, tools, workflow systems, and procedures, aiming to automate procurement processes [45].…”

“…Aduwo et al [43] and Farzin and Nezhad [57] considered high investment costs to be a key economic/financial barrier. Other studies examining barriers to e-procurement highlighted a variety of issues, such as potential cyber-attacks on the supply network [28], security concerns [24], cultural attitudes [58], insufficient ICT infrastructure [43,55], and unreliable power supply [43,55].…”

“…is a triangular fuzzy number, k is the number of respondents, m is the number of barriers (28), and n is the number of criteria (4).…”

“…E-procurement platforms present important opportunities for industry practitioners to minimize a wide range of issues, such as order errors, conflicts between stakeholders, and timeouts in material delivery, beyond traditional procurement operations [26,27]. Despite the strategic and operational advantages of electronic applications [28,29], industry stakeholders usually raise concerns about the use of electronic applications in supply chain management [30,31]. Indeed, companies report experiencing challenges relative to capacity, cost, quality, and customer service under competitive market conditions [32].…”