The development of e-procurement within the ICT manufacturing industry in Ireland


Harrigan, Paul, Boyd, Mary M., Ramsey, Elaine, Ibbotson, Patrick and Bright, Muriel (2008) The development of e-procurement within the ICT manufacturing industry in Ireland. Management Decision, 46, (3), 481-500. (doi:10.1108/00251740810863906).

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Description/Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that e-procurement provides manufacturing firms with new and efficient solutions to drive significant value into their business, yet generally the use of internet technologies to accommodate e-procurement systems remains in a formative stage. Previous research tends to focus on larger economies, so this paper provides a new perspective by presenting evidence from the Irish ICT manufacturing industry.
Design/methodology/approach – The research locale is justified on the basis that the ICT manufacturing sector has a greater propensity to adopt technologies such as e-procurement. In addition, by conducting the research in a small peripheral economy, a gap in the knowledge base is being addressed. The exploratory research adopted a quantitative methodology with a questionnaire instrument being employed to investigate various e-procurement activities within a sample of top performing ICT manufacturing firms.
Findings – Findings show that e-procurement is developing as a function. Significant benefits are reported, including streamlined business processes and reduced business costs. Difficulties associated with implementation are minimal, but focus on integration issues.
Research limitations/implications – Limitations of small sample size negate the ability to generalise. Thus a larger scale comparative study has been initiated to investigate e-procurement more extensively in the ICT and other industry settings in Ireland.
Practical implications – It is concluded that to further the integration of e-procurement, organisations should develop a dual focus on technical and people issues to instil a culture of staff development and continuous improvement.
Originality/value – This paper addresses a gap in knowledge by investigating e-procurement in the top performing firms in Ireland's ICT manufacturing sector. A picture is provided of e-procurement development in a peripheral economy and the foundation has been laid for more extensive research in the future.

Item Type: Article
ISSNs: 0025-1747 (print)
Related URLs:
Keywords: communication technologies, electronic commerce, ireland, manufacturing industries, procurement
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Divisions: University Structure - Pre August 2011 > School of Management
Item ID: 64384
Date Deposited: 12 Jan 2009
Last Modified: 22 Jul 2012 01:33
Contributors: Harrigan, Paul (Author)
Boyd, Mary M. (Author)
Ramsey, Elaine (Author)
Ibbotson, Patrick (Author)
Bright, Muriel (Author)
Date: 2008
Status: Published
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/64384

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