Establishing Guidelines for effective reverse E-auctions in Small and Medium Enterprises in the United Kingdom
By
______, BSc, MBA
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment for the Degree of Master of Science in Supply Chain and Logistics Management
Submitted August, 2013
Chapter 2: Review of Literature…………………………………………………………………..4
2.1. Introduction into e-procurement………………………………………………………………4
2.1.1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………4
2.1.2. Definition of E-Procurement……………………………………………………………….5
2.1.3. Typical Adoption Strategies………………………………………………………………..7
2.2. Elements of e-procurement………………………………………………………………….10
2.2.1. Background………………………………………………………………………………..10
2.2.2. E-procurement Elements…………………………………………………………………..10
2.2.2.1. E-sourcing……………………………………………………………………………….11
2.2.2.2. E-tendering………………………………………………………………………………11
2.2.2.3. E-evaluation……………………………………………………………………………..12
2.2.2.4. E-collaboration…………………………………………………………………………..12
2.2.2.5. E-contract management…………………………………………………………………12
2.2.2.6. E-ordering and web-based ERP…………………………………………………………12
2.2.2.7. E-auctioning……………………………………………………………………………..13
2.2.2.8. E-payments………………………………………………………………………………14
2.2.2.9. P-cards…………………………………………………………………………………..14
2.2.2.10. E-information…………………………………………………………………………..15
2.3. Sectors that use e-procurement………………………………………………………………15
2.3.1. The public sector…………………………………………………………………………..15
2.3.2. Large corporations and SMEs……………………………………………………………..16
2.3.3. Vendors……………………………………………………………………………………16
2.4. Adopting an E-Procurement System: Benefits and Challenges…………………………….16
2.4.1. Background………………………………………………………………………………..16
2.4.2. Benefits……………………………………………………………………………………17
2.4.3. Challenges…………………………………………………………………………………18
2.5. Reverse e-auctions…………………………………………………………………………..19
2.5.1. Background and use of reverse e-auctions………………………………………………..19
2.5.2. History of reverse e-auctions………………………………………………………………21
2.5.3. Reverse e-Auctions: Advantages and Disadvantages……………………………………..22
2.5.3.1. Reverse e -Auction Advantages…………………………………………………………22
2.5.3.2. Reverse e -Auction Disadvantages………………………………………………………24
2.6. Emerging issues and the need for empirical research/conclusion…………………………..26
References………………………………………………………………………………………..28
List of Figures
Figure 1: A chart of historic context of e-procurement development……………………………..9
Chapter 2: Review of Literature
2.1. Introduction into e-procurement
2.1.1. Introduction
Procurement accounts for the majority of small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) spending in the United Kingdom (Nelson et al., 2001). As a result of this, the advent of web-based e-procurement has been heralded as one of the most important developments that have revolutionised the ways of doing business in the contemporary world due to its potential in ensuring significant reduction in the total cost of acquisition can be achieved (Croom, 2000; Barratt & Rosdahl, 2002; Wyld 2002). Moreover, since the introduction of e-procurement in the United Kingdom (UK) for use by the small and medium enterprises much has so far been achieved including impacting on the nature of such enterprises management, reinforcing market-based relationships; encouraging virtual hierarchies as well as reducing total operational costs for small and medium enterprises (Brosseau, 1990; Barratt & Rosdahl, 2002).
However, procurement is undoubtedly one of the more complex decisions faced by the managements of many small and medium enterprises across the world. This is mainly because it is evidently a complicated and daunting task to extract the service or product with the lowest price in the market without compromising on the time schedule for the procurement, delivery schedule, as well as quality. According to Rai and Tang (2006), for most small and medium enterprises the process of procurement is accountable for 36% of total costs while at the same time attributing to 68% of purchase transactions. As a result of this, Nelson et al., (2001) noted that procurement expenses attribute for the majority of small and medium enterprises’ spending in the United Kingdom, meaning that a significant reduction in procurement costs by the SMEs will directly result in increased profitability.
However, many web-based technologies that facilitate electronic commerce have developed in the recent past due to the rapid growth of internet (Jap, 2007; Kameshwaran and Narahari, 2007). Due to the significant development of many web-based technologies that facilitate e-commerce, e-Procurement has evolved in the recent past through rapid development of internet as a viable alternative to replace the traditionally used methods of procurement. Thus, the evolution of e-procurement has significantly enhanced the influence and status of the purchasing function within SMEs in UK (Ellram and Zsidisin, 2002; Osmonbekov et al, 2002). This significant impact of e-procurement to the purchasing function within many SMEs in the UK has been attributed to the fact that, embracing e-procurement in full leads to the automation of all part of the procurement as well as the payment process using web-based electronic tools (Archer and Yuan, 2000). However, almost all the e-procurement solutions have been adopted in majority of SMEs in the UK with the aim of enabling their employees in possession of the necessary authorization to utilise an automated system to affect the purchase of services or goods (Amit and Zott, 2001; Kennedy and Deeter-Schmelz, 2001; Baily, 2008). Much of the existing literature concerning e-procurement to date has considerably emphasised on early adopters, and in most of these studies have interest in particular areas relating to identification of efficiency effects, system implementation, speculation of the potential changes likely to occur in the supply chain configuration, and positing the significant impact of e-procurement on the purchasing function in organisations by raising their strategic role or conversely leading to their outsourcing.
2.1.2. Definition of E-Procurement
Croom (2000) defines e-procurement as the process of using an electronic system to purchase goods, services and works instead of using a paper based system. This has made e-procurement an important mechanism for the management of tenders and quotations as well as contract management and analysis of spend for SMEs. As a result of this, e-procurement in many SMEs has fully embraced the use of electronic tools in enabling procurement activities, such as sourcing, commissioning, ordering, receipting as well as making payments for the entire spectrum of the SMEs procurement of goods and services electronically. The prime objective of many SMEs to adopt e-procurement is for enabling the management of the supply chain which is achievable by stand alone, integrated or shared software tools (Ellram and Zsidisin, 2002; Osmonbekov et al, 2002; Jap, 2007; Kameshwaran and Narahari, 2007). Thus, e-procurement can be termed as a collective term that defines a range of technologies that have the potential of being used in the automation of both the internal and external processes of the SMEs related to sourcing and buying.
Nelson et al., (2001) note that all the elements of a transaction raging from the initial query to the payment can be conducted electronically via web, fax and email in order to reduce costs and streamline processes. However, considering the roles currently played by e-procurement in facilitating day to day purchasing functions in SMEs, it is undoubtedly evident that e-procurement is more than just an online electronic system for making purchases of goods and services. This proposition is attributable to the fact that, an e-procurement system that is properly implemented can lead to connection of SMEs and their business processes directly with suppliers while at the same time making sure that all interactions are effectively managed between them. This occurs through appropriate management of interactions such as previous pricing, questions and answers, correspondence, bids, and multiple emails sent to multiple stakeholders of the SMEs (Malone et al., 1989; de Boer et al., 2002; Schoenherr and Mabert, 2007).
Essig and Arnold (2001) reiterate that an e-procurement system that is effectively implemented is essential in helping the SMEs to organize their interactions with their most crucial suppliers. This is mainly because of its ability to provide those who have adopted it with a set of monitoring tools that are built-in for helping in the control of costs as well as assuring maximisation of the suppliers’ performance (Amit and Zott, 2001; Kennedy and Deeter-Schmelz, 2001; Baily, 2008). Therefore, through the use of e-procurement tools that are electronically available, during a business process SMEs are provided with an organised way of keeping an open line of communication with potential suppliers. This is achieved because the e-procurement system allows SMEs managers to embark on confirmation of pricing, as well as leveraging on previous agreements in the attempts of assuring that each quotation for a new price is more competitive compared to previous one (Lin and Hsieh, 2000; Turban et al., 2000; Subramaniam and Shaw, 2002; Yen and Ng, 2003).
2.1.3. Typical Adoption Strategies
Some SMEs have of late discovered that a considerable number of their procurement transactions are still taking place through paper work, and they have recently run into many problems that range from supplier participation to content management in their procurement systems (Lancioni et al., 2000). However, according to Gallien and Gupta (2007) most SMEs that are interested in making the switch from paper work to electronic fall into two camps where the first camp consist of the slow step-by-step adopters involved in the implementation of their e-procurement system one piece at a time followed by gradual bringing of trading partners on board. In addition, the other camp consists of the SMEs that follow the total replacement model. The SMEs in the latter camp are involved in building an e-procurement system which is totally parallel; test it, eventually followed to switching over to it when it works effectively (Liao et al., 2003).
Over time and particularly in the last two decades e-procurement has experienced significant development due to the rapid growth of internet use and multiple web-based technologies. As a result of this growth e-procurement currently encompass many components, and from a broad perspective, e-procurement is in many SMEs involved in electronically transferring data to support strategic, operational, and tactical procurement (Croom and Johnston, 2003; Fredendall et al., 2005). These developments have mostly occurred within a span of two decades since the inception of wide spread used on internet and other web-based technologies. Therefore, this implies that e-procurement has been in used for relatively longer than the when the term itself was coined which initially began to be used following the internet establishment in the 1990s (Klemperer, 2004). This is mainly attributable to the fact that, according to Heijboer (2003) since 1960s through mid 1990s, the predominant form of e-procurement was primarily electronic data interchange (EDI). Moreover, over the years e-procurement has experienced significant developments as a result of rapid growth in internet, and nowadays significant support of the e-procurement systems in many SMEs emanate from internet technologies and its adoption becoming more prevalent among SMEs in the UK as well as across the world. The historic context of the growth and development of e-procurement is illustrated in the chart below:
Figure 1: A chart of historic context of e-procurement development
Source: UN Procurement Practitioner’s Handbook
Furthermore, since inception of e-procurement expeditious execution of the laid down procedures and stringent adherence to formulated policies and regulations has been of critical essence. Hence, throughout the evolution of e-procurement it has always been made sure that the staffs deployed within the SMEs to perform the procurement function have a deep understanding of the e-procurement tools and concepts for the purpose of providing input into their development, use, refinement and evaluation as a mean to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the e-procurement (Dyer and Nobeoka, 2000; Salleh and Rhode, 2006). Therefore, SME managers and officers in charge of procurement are required to contribute towards decisions concerning investments, as well as configuration and utilisation of e-procurement tools through: their general understanding of the various applications of e-procurement; identification of the processes of procurement that e-procurement effectively support; understanding of the e-procurement benefit sources; identification of the risks associated with e-procurement adoption; and through their contribution to the e-procurement tools’ development through identification of the scope for process improvement which is e-commerce supported (Croom and Johnston, 2003; Ford et al., 2003; Salleh and Rhode, 2006).
2.2. Elements of e-procurement
2.2.1. Background
In order for an e-procurement system to function optimally, it requires effective implementation of various elements that appropriately collaborate to make sure all the procurement activities are expeditiously executed (Carr and Smeltzer, 2002). Therefore, the e-procurement value chain consists of many elements including e-sourcing, e-tendering, catalogue management, vendor management, Purchase Order Integration, e-auctioning, e-invoicing, e-contract management and e-payment. For effective functioning of the e-procurement systems, SMEs needs the involvement of all of these elements even though the levels of involvement are varied (Quale, 2005; Government Procurement Service, 2013).
2.2.2. E-procurement Elements
Elements of e-procurement are varied and they are all involved in the facilitation of timely and effective procurement of goods and services in a more convenient and affordable manner (Liker and Choi, 2004). Some of the elements of e-procurement involve internet platforms and tools replacing the traditional procurement which include: e-sourcing, e-tendering, e-evaluation, e-collaboration, e-contract management, e-ordering and web-based ERP, e- auctioning, e-payment, P-card, and e-information (Donahue, 2005; GovWin Network, 2010). Each of these elements is discussed below:
2.2.2.1. E-sourcing
E-sourcing is usually involved in supporting the specification phase of the e-procurement process, and it is often used in the pre-qualification of suppliers as well as identification of suppliers that have the potential to be used in the selection phase of the e-procurement process (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009). However, e-sourcing has various benefits where for suppliers the benefit is that it provides a platform for them to market their goods and services, whereas for the purchasing organisations the benefit is that it facilitates the sourcing of suppliers (Carr and Smeltzer, 2002). Moreover, e-sourcing is also a more transparent, faster and fairer way to conduct negotiations and facilitate tenders. Since e-sourcing is founded on a web-based platform, it usually make sure that there smooth and clear communication between suppliers and SMEs, making it a more profitable business tool for both the SMEs as well as the suppliers (UN Procurement Practitioner’s Handbook, 2013). Furthermore, there are other benefits of e-sourcing such as: it is time saving, provides a faster evaluation process, enables a more transparent negotiation, provides a simple format for submission of data online, enables there are clearly defined requirements, and facilitates competition for global business (GovWin Network, 2010).
2.2.2.2. E-tendering
E-tendering is usually used for supporting the selection stage and provides a platform for communication between the suppliers and procuring SME. It covers the tendering process in entirety, that is, from REOI via ITB/RFP to contracting (UN Procurement Practitioner’s Handbook, 2013). Often it is supported by the analysis and assessment activities; and despite its essential role in the e-procurement process it does not include closure of the deal between the supplier and the procuring SME, but it facilitates the tactical procurement process to a greater extent. In addition, e-tendering provides a mechanism that results in equal treatment of suppliers; reduction in (legal) errors; transparent selection process; the tactical procurement process efficiency improvement; clear audit trial; as well as improved tendering procedures’ time management (GovWin Network, 2010).
2.2.2.3. E-evaluation
E-evaluation involves an automated process for evaluating a tender against the criteria that had been pre-agreed. E-evaluation facilitates e-procurement by allowing the evaluation team to undertake the task of streamlining processes for developing assessment criteria that is proper for carrying out evaluation of tender (UN Procurement Practitioner’s Handbook, 2013). Following the putting together of the assessment criteria with deliberation and clarity, the evaluation process does not take much time (Carr and Smeltzer, 2002).
2.2.2.4. E-collaboration
E-collaboration is another crucial element of the e-procurement, and it provides a working environment that is shared over the extranet for groups of SMEs and suppliers that are geographically-dispersed to enable a discussion and sharing of documents at any point during the tendering process (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009).
2.2.2.5. E-contract management
E-contract management is also an important element of e-procurement that plays an essential role of helping in the establishment, management and monitoring contracts including collating bid histories of supplier (UN Procurement Practitioner’s Handbook, 2013). Therefore, using electronic and online technologies, the e-contract management tool has the ability to notify the SMEs and suppliers the due dates for contracts renewal as well as collating performance information of suppliers against the criteria which had been contractually agreed (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009).
2.2.2.6. E-ordering and web-based ERP
Both e-ordering and web-based ERP constitute another essential e-procurement element, and they are involved in the process that create and approve requisitions of procurement, placing purchase orders, as well as facilitating a way through which ordered goods and services are received, by using Internet based software systems (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009). However, both elements of e-procurement have functions that are slightly varied where e-ordering is usually used for indirect (facility) goods and services; for ad-hoc ordering; and by all employees of an organisation (large corporations and SMEs), whereas the web-based ERP is usually used for direct (product related) goods and services; for planned ordering; as well as by a procurement department (GovWin Network, 2010).
2.2.2.7. E-auctioning
E-auctioning is another e-procurement element of great importance and it is involved in supporting the contract stage. It is usually this element if involved parties agree on price that enables the closure of a deal with a supplier. There operations are based on a price mechanism that is either upward or downward, that is, upward price mechanism e-auctioning for the selling organisation and a downward price mechanism reverse e-auctioning for the purchasing organisation (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009). The e-auctioning element is based on internet utilising either open or closed systems. In a reverse e-auction, potential suppliers are given an opportunity to fairly compete in real time, through provision of prices for the services and goods under auction. In most case prices start at one level followed by gradual reduction in the efforts of suppliers competing to offer terms that are improved for the purpose of gaining the contract. Sometimes, e-auctions can be solely based on price or in order to account for other criteria it can be weighted (UN Procurement Practitioner’s Handbook, 2013). However, it should not be construed that e-auctions are meant to replace tendering, but they constitute a part of it by providing transparent and cost-effective conclusion to the process of tendering. This crucial element of e-procurement ensures that only successfully pre-qualified suppliers as per set criteria get the invitation for participation in the auction (GovWin Network, 2010). However, in order to enable all qualified suppliers to get an equal opportunity to successfully participate in the e-auction process, the procurement agency usually makes sure that it avails all relevant information to the suppliers. The various software solutions used in conducting e-auctions that are available in the market are involved in providing a robust platform for the e-auction process (Donahue, 2005).
2.2.2.8. E-payments
E-payment is essentially the most important element of e-procurement because it enables the procuring organisation to pay for the ordered goods or services. Therefore, e-payment can be termed as the direct credit payment to the bank account of the supplier. The e-payment enables electronic transfer of funds from the agencies or SMEs and suppliers and it usually benefit both agencies or SMEs and suppliers (GovWin Network, 2010). There are various ways through which e-payment benefits agencies or SMEs including reduced costs since it is much cheaper when payments are made by direct credit than by cheque. Moreover, the suppliers also benefit from e-payment because of the direct deposition of payment in their account meaning that the need to go to a bank branch is not important in order to bank the cheque manually (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009). During the transfer of funds electronically there is also avoidance of delays that would have occurred waiting for the cheque clearance, thus making sure that suppliers can instantaneously access their funds after it is deposited by the agency or SME which had procured the goods or services.
2.2.2.9. P-cards
The introduction of P-cards (also known as purchasing cards) in the United Kingdom was initially done in 1997 for use among the Central Government organisations followed by their subsequent extension to the UK Public Sector organizations in 2003 for the facilitation of low value services and goods requisition in a swift and easy manner (GovWin Network, 2010). Within five days, the suppliers are paid back and a consolidated invoice is used to bill the buyer on a monthly basis. However, there are extra controls that exist for the P-cards in order to restrict the usage of the card to particular commodity areas, as well as prescribing the value of individual transaction and limits for monthly expenditure (Donahue, 2005).
2.2.2.10. E-informing
The other essential e-procurement element is the e-informing which is not in direct association with a procurement process stage, but a process involved in the gathering and distribution of procurement information using Internet technology both from and to internal and external parties (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009).
2.3. Sectors that use e-procurement
As the development of e-procurement continue due to rapid growth in internet usage and other web-based technologies, the adoption of e-procurement in various sectors of the economy has also continued at a pace that match the growth. Thus, e-procurement systems have over the recent past been adopted in many sectors and in particular e-procurement is used in sectors discussed below:
2.3.1. The public sector
Public procurement is undoubtedly one of the most complicated and daunting tasks that face public servants since it is often marred with corruption or other malicious acts. However, since the e-procurement tools have significantly grown over the last one decade due to growth in internet, many public sector organisations have adopted the usage of e-procurement for e-sourcing, e-tendering, e-ordering, contracts management, e-invoicing and e-payment in order to achieve benefits such as cost savings (faster and cheaper) and increased efficiency in government procurement as well as transparency improvement (through reduced corruption) in government’s procurement services (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009). However, there has been rapid growth of e-procurement adoption in the public sector throughout the UK in recent years. Moreover, public sector e-procurement is nowadays emerging internationally. Hence, there has been implementation of initiatives in the UK, USA, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, and European Union. In addition, the UK’s central government as well as almost all town and city Councils have fully adopted e-procurement, thus projects that are associated with e-procurement have often become part of the UK’s larger e-Government efforts towards making sure that it serves its citizens and businesses better in this era of digital economy (Wilkinson, 2006).
2.3.2. Large corporations and SMEs
In UK, e-procurement has received wide adoption in the private sector involving both the large corporations and SMEs. This significant acceptance of e-procurement among private sector players in the UK economy has been greatly attributed to the crucial benefits that accrue from the adoption of e-procurement systems. Hence the adoption of e-procurement in UK has become a norm among the large corporations and SMEs (Reunis and van Raaij, 2006; Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009).
2.3.3. Vendors
The other important sector where e-procurement is used is the vendors, a field that is dominated by two groups of vendors such as the big enterprise resource planning (ERP) providers involved in offering e-procurement as one of their services among many others, and the other group of vendors which offers services that are more affordable, but specifically focused on e-procurement (Wilkinson, 2006).
2.4. Adopting an E-Procurement System: Benefits and Challenges
2.4.1. Background
Over the last years there has been significant adoption of e-procurement by SMEs in the UK and derived the benefits accrue from the implementation of an automated and electronic procurement processes (Mishra et al., 2007). Moreover, apart from adoption of e-procurement by SMEs in the private sector, there has also been a large extent of e-procurement adoption by the public sector which has also focused on deriving benefits from e-business and IT adoption (Wheatley, 2003). As a result of the increased adoption of e-procurement among SMEs in the UK, there has also been a significant increase in the interest to optimise interactions between businesses and suppliers. Moreover, as UK strives to make sure that there is significant adoption of e-procurement among SMEs, the EU has recently suggested that there is need to give high priority to e-procurement in its member countries, UK included (Mishra et al., 2007). This will be significantly essential in extending invitation to new interaction between private and public players with respect to electronic marketplaces (Wyld, 2002). However, adoption of e-procurement systems leads to various benefits and challenges as discussed below:
2.4.2. Benefits
Adoption of e-procurement among SMEs in the UK leads to many benefits which include helping with the process of making decision by making sure relevant information is kept neatly organized and time-stamped (Womack et al., 1990). Moreover, most of the e-procurement processes are template-driven for the purpose of making all transactions trackable and standardized. In addition, it also facilitates a track of all bids to be kept meaning it is possible to leverage your knowledge in order to obtain better pricing. This implies that SMEs can focus on their most lucrative contracts and trading partners (Wyld, 2002).
The other benefit that ensues from e-procurement adoption is that, a well-managed e-procurement helps in the reduction of inventory levels. Also through e-procurement it possible for SMEs to know product numbers, contact points and bid prices which can be helpful for the SME in the closure of a deal as other suppliers struggle to gather their relevant data (Wheatley, 2003). Moreover, e-procurement systems have another vital benefit since it allows multiple access levels and permissions that play essential role of helping procurement managers in organising administrative users by tasks, groups, or roles (Mishra et al., 2007). In addition, since web-based e-procurement processes can be quickly assembled, it is possible to tailor them to the individual recipients’ needs with a granularity degree that previously was not economically viable or possible (Womack et al., 1990; Mishra et al., 2007).
2.4.3. Challenges
The adoption of e-procurement in both public and private sector is faced with various challenges. For instance, the implementation of public e-procurement is time intensive and expensive, because it entails expensive, laborious and complex interoperation of disparate and/or interspersed applications, such as ordering, billing systems, invoicing, ERP systems, etc., at both national and international level (Wheatley, 2003). This implies that development time and costs reduction is a vital prerequisite for the public e-procurement services’ realisation. Another challenge of e-procurement adoption is the complexity that results from regulatory and legal framework that is strict and which should be respected by the developers of such services (Womack et al., 1990).
Furthermore, another challenge arises from the fact that application interoperation architectures that are available have limitations in terms platform independence and language, as well as in terms of implementation and use complexity (Wyld, 2002). However, appropriate use of technology can provide an easy and inexpensive way of sharing disparate and/or interspersed applications on the Internet thereby making their availability possible for interoperation is offered by Web Services, but these tasks can only be carried out by an IT expert which may incur the SME additional costs (Mishra et al., 2007). The other challenge that is faced is the lack of confidentiality since through the use of web-based e-procurement services, it is possible to expose any involved e-procurement process, sub-process and function to any other entity, such as an organisation, another business function, a particular community, or an end-user (Wheatley, 2003).
2.5. Reverse e-auctions
2.5.1. Background and use of reverse e-auctions
Reverse e-auction is one type of e-auctions that constitute an important element of e-procurement and both require Internet and other web-based technologies. However, a reverse e-auction is a type of e-auction in which there is a reversal of the roles of seller and buyer. This is contrary to the ordinary auction (also referred to as a forward auction), where buyers drawn from different sectors compete to obtain a service or good by offering prices that are increasingly higher (Cramton, 2006). This is in sharp contrast with a reverse e-auction, where sellers drawn from different sectors compete towards obtaining business from the buyer and it is typically characterised by a decrease in prices as the sellers strive to make sure they undercut each other and present an appealing offer to the buyer (d’Arcy, 2010). This implies that a reverse e-auction is similar to a unique bid auction where both have the same basic principle, even though they both from the fact that the traditional auction format is closely followed in a unique bid auction because there is confidentiality of each bid and eventually one clear winner is announced by the end of the auction, usually the one who has stated the highest bid (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009).
However, considering that reverse e-auctions are a crucial component of e-procurement, it is also undoubtedly evident that e-procurement is the most common application of reverse e-auctions, a strategy that is used by SMEs’ purchasing and supply management departments in their efforts towards reducing spending as a component of the organisation’s strategic sourcing as well as other activities involved in the supply management (Cramton, 2006). A reverse e-auction is the strategy commonly used by SMEs to facilitate their e-procurement, however it is different compared to other types of auctions since a contract for bidding is offered out by a single buyer (either through an online marketplace or by using a specialised software). This is followed by offers for bids on the contract from multiple sellers. However, as the reverse e-auction progresses, there is a decrease in price since sellers are competing to offer lower bids than those offered by their competitors while at the same making sure that they meet all the specifications of the original contract. Therefore, since the buyer is able to check and monitor offers presented by different sellers, they are then able to choose any of the offers that are appealing to them. Thus, in actual sense a reverse e-auction can not be considered a true auction (Cramton, 2006).
Moreover, using the Internet and other web-based technologies bidding can be performed in real-time resulting in a process that is dynamic and competitive. This plays an important role that helps in achieving rapid price pressure downwards that is normally unattainable when the traditional bidding processes that is based on static paper. However, when the buyers are awarding the contract in a reverse e-auction, they often consider the seller who bid the lowest price. Alternatively, the contracts may be awarded by buyer to suppliers who bid higher prices on the basis the specific needs of the buyer in terms of capacity, lead-time, quality, or other capabilities that are value-adding (d’Arcy, 2010).
Nowadays, in order to make sure that buyers determine the supplier who has the potential to provide the best value in providing services and goods, the usage of Optimization software has recently become very popular since it helps the buyers to exactly determine the best supplier in terms of value. This is attributable to the fact that the software includes relevant seller and buyer business data, including constraints (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009). As a result of the importance of reverse e-auctions, there usage has been extended to cover both large and small value contracts both private and public sector. In addition to sourcing for items typically considered as commodities, reverse e-auctions have also gained wide usage in sourcing for goods and services that are buyer-designed; and at some point they have even been utilised in sourcing for providers of reverse e-auction. In 2003, researchers in the field of e-procurement claimed that an average of 5% of total spending by SMEs was sourced through reverse e-auctions (Croom, 2005; Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009; d’Arcy, 2010).
2.5.2. History of reverse e-auctions
Over the last two decades reverse e-auctions have developed to become one of the most important methods used by SMEs to source for contracts form suppliers. The popularity and wide spread usage of reverse e-auctions has tremendously grown due to rapid growth in Internet and other web-based technologies (Cramton, 2006). This is attributable to the fact that online marketplaces offer a platform that allows easy and convenient access of buyers for sellers and sellers for buyers. Thus, reverse e-auctions offers both buyers and sellers (suppliers) with an appropriate channel through which they can access the goods and services of interest. Reverse e-auctions gained significant popularity in the late 1990s mainly because of the emergence of online auction tools that are Internet-based (Mishra et al., 2007). In 1995, the pioneer of online reverse e-auctions, FreeMarkets was founded by Glen Meakem formerly a McKinsey consultant and General Electric executive. FreeMarkets experienced significant growth throughout late 1990s and early 2000s up to a point of been able to manage the process of running tenders online as well as setting up market operations for the management of reverse e-auctions globally (Doyle and Baska, 2002). Moreover, the growth of the company was greatly aided by the hype of the dot-com boom era, and the customers of FreeMarkets Company included BP plc, Visteon, Exxon Mobil, United Technologies, and Royal Dutch Shell, and many others. However, with continued emergence and expansion of online auction tools that are Internet-based led to establishment of many start-up reverse e-auction service providers that posed significant competition to FreeMarkets (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009).
Towards the late 2000s, online reverse e-auctions started to become mainstream because of the significant increase in the number of companies involved in the business and the market shares initially commanded by FreeMarkets and other pioneers in the business dropped significantly as a result stiff competition from start-up online reverse e-auction companies (d’Arcy, 2010). This significant growth of the business led to a consolidation of the reverse e-auction service marketplace where thousands of buyers and sellers transact on a day-to-day basis. Moreover, in the past few years the evolution of the mobile reverse e-auction has been observed. However, unlike business-to-business (B2B) reverse e-auctions, mobile reverse e-auctions are B2C that give consumers an opportunity to bid on goods for pennies, and the bid that is uniquely lowest wins (Cramton, 2006). Furthermore, reverse e-auctions have continued to evolve in order to allow incorporation of better ways through which buyers and sellers can effectively procure and sell their goods and services respectively (d’Arcy, 2010).
2.5.3. Reverse e-Auctions: Advantages and Disadvantages
A literature review to find out the advantages and disadvantages of reverse e-auctions reveals that there are numerous advantages that are associated with reverse e-auctions whilst at the same time there are also many disadvantages that are related to reverse e-auctions (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009). However, a critical evaluation of the identified advantages and disadvantages of reverse e-auctions indicates that advantages outweigh the disadvantages meaning that reverse e-auctions offer essential benefits to buyers and sellers (suppliers).
2.5.3.1. Reverse e -Auction Advantages
There are many advantages that accrue from using reverse e-auctions which include significant cost reductions due to a combination of dynamic bidding and price transparency both of which results in lower prices that are unattainable through traditional methods. Thus, through reverse e-auctions it is highly possible to obtain the true market price, through market place stimulation (Fredendall et al., 2005). Osmonbekov et al. (2002) express their views that reverse e-auctions can substantially cut costs through increased competition. The other reason why reverse e-auctions reduce price is that they remove engineers’ opportunity to design and manufacture their product targeting a particular cost, but forces them to state the lowest cost (Shalev and Asbjornsen, 2009). Moreover, reverse e-auctions are time saving since they eliminate negotiations in purchasing which is one of the most time consuming activities since they are long and drawn-out. Time is saved because negotiations for prices are effectively done online where they take a few hours compared to months taken in traditional negotiations in purchasing (McManus, 2002). Additionally, there is a reduction of sourcing cycle time because sellers with lowest prices go buyers instead of the buyers hunting for them (Pekec and Rothkopf, 2003).
Reverse e-auctions also ensures that the process for buyers and suppliers is open and transparent. McManus (2002) notes that transparency for buyers helped them to determine the real market price of competitors’ goods since suppliers always considered competition. This implies that the transparent nature of reverse e-auctions can enable suppliers to benchmark themselves against other suppliers in the market place. Through reverse e-auctions supply for new companies are opened up as well as providing a more level playing ground for all buyers and suppliers (d’Arcy, 2010). This is attributed by the fact that reverse e-auctions attract a significant number of suppliers to process of bidding. Moreover, reverse e-auctions allows business to reach suppliers worldwide in a timely manner, without incurring unnecessary costs linked to such access. Therefore, the ability for suppliers and buyers to communicate the bid globally opens up the auction to new suppliers as well as offers at a playing field that is more levelled for all participants to compete, meaning there will be lower prices as a result of greater competition (Osmonbekov et al., 2002).
Also reverse e-auctions can improve procurement processes since purchasing processes are more enhanced and disciplined as well as the availability of new skills due to involvement of the third party (d’Arcy, 2010). Moreover, the improvement of specifications is undoubtedly the main improvement caused by reverse e-auctions to purchasing processes in addition to other procurement process advantages such as quick return on investment, improved audit trails, imposition of more favourable terms and conditions by the buyer, as well as enabling a significant potential for skills development and internal learning (Smith, 1990). Reverse e-auctions are also quick and easy to conduct since a website is not a necessity to conduct reverse e-auctions, but only an e-mail address since there are plenty third parties involved in providing the reverse e-auction tool at a minimal fee (d’Arcy, 2010). Furthermore, reverse e-auctions results to a shift of the balance of power from suppliers to buyers since they radically transform purchasing, thus effectively entrenching the power to set goods and services prices in the hands of purchasers (Shubik, 2004).
Shalev and Asbjornsen (2009) note that reverse e-auctions can lead to improved specifications for suppliers since third party intermediaries’ help results to the RFQ which is much better than when it is prepared by the buyer alone. This enables a more accurate calculation of suppliers’ prices. Moreover, reverse e-auctions removes intermediaries who include brokers, distributors or agents from the supply chain, thus driving costs down (Krishna, 2002). Furthermore, reverse e-auctions can make suppliers react to competitor’s prices because they offer suppliers an opportunity to react to prices of competitors in a way which is not possible through competitive bidding. This is mainly because reverse e-auctions are just like bids that are already sealed, but it is possible for the suppliers within a time scale to keep on coming back with new prices (Croom and Johnston, 2003; Ford et al., 2003; Salleh and Rhode, 2006).
2.5.3.2. Reverse e -Auction Disadvantages
Apart from the advantages of reverse e-auctions discussed in the above section, there are also various disadvantages that are attributable to reverse e-auctions. For instance, the most quoted disadvantage of reverse e-auctions is that they damages the relationship between buyer and supplier mainly because the focus is mostly on the price which makes it difficult for suppliers in maintaining close relationship with buyers (Osmonbekov et al., 2002). Moreover, in most cases the suppliers usually feel forced to participate in the reverse e-auctions, and do not have succinct understanding of the process (Dyer and Nobeoka, 2000; Salleh and Rhode, 2006). In addition, reverse e-auctions are considered unethical since the balance of power is inclined in favour of the buyer meaning that suppliers rely on buyers to make sure they are treated fairly which is unfair because each party should at least have some power to influence the process. Sometimes, there are concerns over buyers failing to clearly specify their selection criteria making suppliers suspicious of the process manipulation by buyers, either through submission of their own bids so that they can force prices down or by bringing in unqualified sellers (Pekec and Rothkopf, 2003).
Reverse e-auctions also have a disadvantage of signalling to the market place that only price is important since various researchers have noted that reverse e-auctions work on the basis that if the suppliers wins the auction on price the buyer must accept, then they get the contract (Croom and Johnston, 2003; Ford et al., 2003; Salleh and Rhode, 2006). In most cases the lowest bidder usually wins the bid implying that price is always the main criteria. However, this should not be the case since the best value should be used instead of the cheapest price (Pekec and Rothkopf, 2003). There is also another disadvantage of the fear factor of technologies since reverse e-auctions represent a major upheaval in the process of sourcing for decades, and as it is experienced with any change fear of misplaced preconceptions and the unknown may proof challenging. Moreover, it is also possible for suppliers to be caught up in the emotion of the auction event and bid too low (Zollo and winter, 2002). Thus, sellers may succumb to “winner’s curse” where the bidder may end up paying more or taking less for a contract than it is actually worthy. Hence, the emotion may make bidders not to take into account any events that may be unforeseen such as union strikes, bad weather, transportation problems, and many more (Zollo and winter, 2002).
Moreover, reverse e-auctions can not be used for all services and products since it is not every auction which produces cost savings. Thus, when some services and products are sold through the reverse e-auctions, there is a risk that no money will be saved over purchasing from a regular supplier (Salleh and Rhode, 2006). Therefore, in order for a product or service to be sold through reverse e-auctions, it must fulfil certain criteria. This implies that only the products and services that satisfy the set criteria can be sold through reverse e-auctions. McAfee and McMillan (1987) note that sometimes it is hard to attract suppliers to bid for the business if the volume of contracts is not high. Therefore in order for a buyer to attract considerable competition from suppliers, the volume of contracts needs to be high. Furthermore, the other disadvantage is that the SME’s usually suffer from reverse e-auctions since terms and conditions of the reverse e-auction are established by the buyer and they are not negotiable (Zollo and winter, 2002). However, such terms and conditions can be detrimental to SME’s, thus discouraging them from taking part in the bidding because of the unfavourable environment (Pekec and Rothkopf, 2003).
2.6. Emerging issues and the need for empirical research/conclusion
As the above literature review shows, there is a very strong relationship between e-procurement and reverse e-auctions since the latter is a component of the former. However, e-procurement has been found to have various elements which at the same time posing significant opportunities and challenges. Considering how implementation of e-procurement influences governance structures or SMEs management it is undoubtedly evident that it leads to reduced search costs resulting to increased supply availability, eventually leading to greater leverage in negotiation. Moreover, e-procurement implementation also leads to an increase in the level of communication which drives knowledge sharing between suppliers and customers. Therefore, instead of seeing a move towards increased market-based relationships, it has been observed that e-procurement reinforces hierarchical relationships that exist among firms. Moreover, it has also been found that e-procurement implementation has impact on the total cost of goods and services acquisitions where the processing purchase requisition costs is reduced through procurement system improvements. In addition, there are reductions in prices that accrue from increased visibility, demand aggregation, management information, compliance, as well as increased leverage in negotiations. Moreover, there is a comprehensive list of advantages and disadvantages of reverse e-auctions as quoted by buyers and suppliers. However, a critical evaluation of the identified advantages and disadvantages of reverse e-auctions indicates that advantages outweigh the disadvantages meaning that reverse e-auctions offer essential benefits to buyers and sellers (suppliers).
Bibliography
Amit, R. and Zott, C. (2001), “Value creation in e-business”. Strategic Management Journal, Vol.22 Issue 3, pp. 493-520.
Archer, N. and Yuan, Y. (2000), “Managing business-to-business relationships throughout the e-commerce procurement life cycle”. Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, Vol.10 Issue 5, pp. 385- 395.
Baily, P. J. H. (2008), Procurement principles and management. Harlow, England: Prentice Hall Financial Times.
Barratt, M. and Rosdahl, K. (2002), “Exploring business-to-business market sites”. European Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, Vol.5 Issue 8, pp. 111-122.
Bournemouth Borough Council, (2013), e-procurement. Available at: http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/Business/SupplyingtheCouncil/eProcurement.aspx [Accessed on 17th July 2013].
Bounds, G., (1996), Toyota Supplier Development, in Cases in Quality, G. Bounds, Ed., Chicago, IL: R.D. Irwin Co. pp. 3–25.
Brody, R. and Goodman, M. (1988), Fund-raising events: strategies and programs for success. London: Human Sciences Press.
Brousseau, E. (1990), “Information technologies and inter-firm relationships: The spread of inter-organizational telematics systems and its impact on economic structure”. Presented to the International Telecommunications Society, Venice; June 1990.
Carr, A.S. and Smeltzer, L.R. (2002), “The Relationship Between Information Technology Use and Buyer–Supplier Relationships: An Exploratory Analysis of the Buying Firm’s Perspective”. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol.49 Issue 3, pp. 293-304.
Cramton, P. (2006), “Simultaneous Ascending Auctions”, in Cramton, P., Shoham, Y. and Steinberg, R., Combinatorial Auctions, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Croom, S., (2000), “The Impact of Web-Based Procurement on the Management of Operating Resources Supply”. The Journal of Supply Chain Management, Vol.36 Issue 1, pp. 4-13.
Croom, S. (2001), “Restructuring Supply Chains through Information Channel Innovation”. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Vol.8 Issue 3, pp. 504-527.
Croom, S. and Johnston, R. (2003), “E-Service: Enhancing internal customer service through e-procurement”. International Journal of Service Industries Management, Vol.14 Issue 5, pp. 539-555.
Croom, S. (2005), “The Impact of E- Business on Supply Chain Management: An Empirical Study of Key Developments”. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol.25 Issue 2, pp. 23-31.
Croom, S. and Brandon-Jones, A. (2005), “E-Procurement: Key issues in e-procurement implementation and operation in the public sector”. Journal of Public Procurement, Vol.5 Issue 3, pp.34-45.
Croom, S. and Brandon-Jones, A. (2007), “Impact of e-procurement: Experiences from implementation in the UK public sector.” Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, Vol.13 Issue 4, pp. 294-303.
d’Arcy, S. (2010), Bag a holiday bargain in an online auction. London: The Times.
de Boer L., Harink J. and Heijboer G. (2002), “A conceptual model for assessing the impact of electronic procurement”. European Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, Vol. 8 Issue 1, pp. 25-33.
Donahue, H.W. (2005), The Toastmaster’s Manual. Stuttgart: Kessinger Publishing.
Doyle, R. A. and Baska, S. (2002), “History of Auctions: From ancient Rome to today’s high-tech auctions”, Auctioneer.
Dyer, J. and Nobeoka, K. (2000), “Creating and Managing a High-Performance Knowledge Sharing Network: The Toyota Case.” Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 21 Issue 2, pp. 345–367.
Ellram, L.M. and Zsidisin, G.A. (2002), “Factors that drive purchasing and supply management’s use of information technology”. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol.49 Issue 3, pp. 269-281.
Essig, M. and Arnold, U. (2001), “Electronic procurement in supply chain management: An information economics-based analysis of electronic markets”. Journal of Supply Chain Management, Vol.37 Issue 4, pp. 43-49.
Ford, D., Gadde, L.E., Hakansson, H. and Snehota, I. (2003), Managing Business Relationships, 2nd Edition. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
Fredendall, L.D., Hopkins C.D. and Bhonsle, A. (2005) “Purchasing’s internal service performance: Critical external and internal determinants”. Journal of Supply Chain Management: A Global Review of Purchasing and Supply, Spring, pp. 26-38.
Gallien, J. and Gupta, S. (2007), “Temporary and Permanent Buyout Prices in Online Auctions.” Management Science, Vol.53 Issue 5, pp. 814–833.
Government Procurement Service, (2013), eProcurement programme. Available at: http://gps.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/about-government-procurement-service/training-and-recruitment/eprocurement-programme [Accessed on 17th July 2013].
GovWin Network, (2010), E-procurement Overview. Available at: http://govwin.com/knowledge/eprocurement [Accessed on 17th July 2013].
Heijboer, G. (2003), Quantitative Analysis of Strategic and Tactical Purchasing Decisions: Electronic purchasing. Determining the optimal rollout strategy. Chapter 8 (pp. 162-189) in Twente University Press.
Interfaces, (2006), “Using Organizational Control Mechanisms to Enhance Procurement Efficiency: How GlaxoSmithKline Improved the Effectiveness of E-Procurement”. 33(3), pp. 209-212.
Isaac, R.M. and Schnier, K. (2005), “Silent auctions in the field and in the laboratory.” Economic Inquiry, Vol.43 Issue4, pp. 715–733.
Jap, S.D. (2007), “The Impact of Online Reverse Auction Design on Buyer-Supplier Relationships.” Journal of Marketing, Vol.71 Issue 1, pp. 146-50.
Kameshwaran, S. and Narahari, Y. (2007), “Multiattribute electronic procurement using goal programming”. European Journal of Operational Research, Vol.179 Issue 2, pp. 518-536.
Kennedy, K.N. and Deeter-Schmelz, D.R. (2001), “Descriptive and predictive analyses of industrial buyer’s use of online information for purchasing”. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Vol.21 Issue 4, pp. 279-290.
Klemperer, P. (2004), Auctions: Theory and Practice. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Krishna, V. (2002), Auction Theory. San Diego, USA: Academic Press.
Kumar, N. and Qian, P. (2006), “Strategic alliances in e-government procurement”. International Journal of Electronic Business, Vol.4 Issue 2, pp. 136-145.
Lancioni, R.A., Smith, M.F. and Olivia, T.A. (2000), “The Role of the Internet in Supply Chain Management”. Industrial Marketing Management, Vol.29 Issue 3, pp. 45-56.
Liao, S.H., Cheng, C.H., Liao, W.B. and Chen, I.L. (2003), “A web-based architecture for implementing electronic procurement in military organisations”. Technovation, Vol.23 Issue 6, pp. 521-532.
Liker, J. and Choi, T. (2004), “Building Deep Supplier Relationships.” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 82 Issue 12, pp. 104–113.
Lin, B. and Hsieh, C.T. (2000) “Online procurement: implementation and managerial implications”. Human Systems Management, Vol.19 Issue 3, pp. 105-110.
Malone, T., Yates, J. and Benjamin, R. (1989), “The logic of electronic markets”. Harvard Business Review, May-June, pp. 166-171.
McAfee, D.S. and McMillan, D. (1987), “Auctions and Bidding.” Journal of Economic Literature, Vol.25 Issue 2, pp. 699–738.
McManus, S.A. (2002), “Understanding the incremental nature of e-procurement implementation at the state and local levels”. Journal of Public Procurement, Vol. 2 Issue 1, pp. 5-28.
Milgrom, P. (2004), Putting Auction Theory to Work. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Mishra, A.N., Konana, P., and Barua, A. (2007), “Antecedents and consequences of Internet Use in Procurement: An Empirical Investigation of U.S. Manufacturing Firms”. Information Systems, Vol.18 Issue 1, pp. 103-120.
Narasimhan, R. and Das, A. (2001), “The impact of purchasing integration practices on manufacturing performance”. Journal of Operations Management, Vol.19 Issue 3, pp. 593-609.
Nelson, D.R., Moody, P.E. and Stegner, J. (2001), The Purchasing Machine: How the Top Ten Companies Use Best Practices to Manage Their Supply Chains. New York, NY: The Free Press.
Nonaka, I. and Teece, D. J. Eds. (2001), Managing Industrial Knowledge: Creation, Transfer and Utilization. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.
Osmonbekov, T., Bello, D.C. and Gilliland, D.I. (2002), “Adoption of electronic commerce tools in business procurement: enhancing buying center structure and process”. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Vol.17 Issue 2, pp. 151-166.
Pekec, A. and Rothkopf, M.H. (2003), “Combinatorial auction design.” Management Science, Vol.49 Issue 11, pp. 1485–1503.
Quale, M. (2005), “The (real) management implications of e-procurement”. Journal of General Management, Vol.31 Issue 1, pp. 23-39.
Rai, A. and Tang, X. (2006), “Assimilation patterns of the use of electronic procurement innovations: A cluster analysis”. Information & Management, Vol. 43 Issue 3, pp. 336-349.
Rajkumar, T.M. (2001), “E-Procurement: Business and technical issues”. Information Systems Management, Vol.18 Issue 4, pp. 52-60.
Reunis, M.R.B. and van Raaij, E.M. (2006), Scale development for E-Procurement Adoption Influence Tactics. Working Paper, 15 Annual IPSERA Conference; San Diego.
Salleh, N.A. and Rhode, F. (2006), “The Effect of Enacted Capabilities on Adoption of a Government Electronic Procurement System by Malaysian SMEs”. Electronic Markets, Vol. 16 Issue 4, pp. 292-311.
Schoenherr, T. and Mabert, V.A. (2007), “Online reverse auctions: Common myths versus evolving reality.” Business Horizons, Vol.50 Issue 5, pp. 373–384.
Shalev, E.M. and Asbjornsen, S. (2009), “Electronic Reverse Auctions and the Public Sector: Factors of Success.” Journal of Public Procurement, Vol.10 Issue 3, pp.428-452.
Shubik, M. (2004), The Theory of Money and Financial Institutions: Volume 1, Cambridge, Mass., USA: MIT Press, pp. 213–219.
Smith, C.W. (1990), Auctions: Social Construction of Value. California: University of California Press.
Subramaniam, C. and Shaw, M.J. (2002), “A study of the value and impact of B2B E-Commerce: The case of web-based procurement”. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol.6 Issue 4, pp. 19-40.
Turban, E., Lee, J., King, D. and Chung, H.M. (2000), Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective. London: Prentice Hall.
UN Procurement Practitioner’s Handbook, (2013), e-procurement. Available at: https://www.ungm.org/pph/ch04s02.html [Accessed on 17th July 2013].
Wheatley, M. (2003), “How to Know if E-Procurement Is Right for You; While some companies have achieved price reductions through online sourcing, the focus of e-procurement initiatives today is process efficiency. Here’s how to decide if, what and how you should buy electronically”. CIO, Vol.16 Issue 17, p. 1.
Wilkinson, J.L. (2006), The EBay Price Guide: What Sells for What. London: No Starch Press.
Womack, J., Jones, D., and Roos, D. (1990), The Machine that Changed the World. New York, NY: Rawson Associates.
Wyld, D.C. (2002), “The Electric Company: How the supply chain is being reinvented through the rapid application of e-procurement processes in the business-to-business arena”. Management Research News, Vol.21 Issue 12, pp. 22-23.
Yen, B.P.C. and Ng, E.O.S. (2003), “The impact of electronic commerce on procurement”. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, Vol.13 Issue (3&4), pp. 167-189.
Zollo, M. and Winter, S.G., (2002), “Deliberate Learning and the Evolution of Dynamic Capabilities”. Organization Science, Vol.13 Issue 3, pp. 339-351.
