IMPACT OF EPROCUREMENT TECHNOLOGIES USAGE ON PROCUREMENT PRACTICES AND TRANSACTION COSTS

摘要

Supply chain management involves all approaches used to efficiently integrate all participants of a supply chain so that products/services are delivered to the customer in the right quantities, to the right location, at the right time, and at optimal cost. Eprocurement has shown to be the start point for many companies' overall e-Commerce strategy, since procurement is a critical link between members of the supply chain (Novack and Simco (1991)). This paper posits a model of the relationships between eprocurement technology usage, procurement practices and transaction costs. This model was tested and validated using a sample of 368 procurement specialists in the United States. The findings suggest that eprocurement technology usage positively affects procurement practices and transaction costs, and also, procurement practices have a positive impact on transaction costs. Guidelines for future research include refinement of the procurement practices construct by adding the strategic view, when organizations have experienced higher levels of eprocurement technology usage.