Relationship between E-Procurement Adoption and Supply Chain Management Practices in Tea Firms
Ezekiel Kipkoech Chirchir 1, Vincent Ngeno 2, Vincent Ngeno 3
Citation : Ezekiel Kipkoech Chirchir, Vincent Ngeno, Joel Chepkwony, Relationship between E-Procurement Adoption and Supply Chain Management Practices in Tea Firms International Journal of Managerial Studies and Research 2015 , 3(11) : 25-36
Many firms in the world and more so in Kenya have registered dismal supply chain performance in terms of partner relationship, information sharing and supply chain integration within supply chain system because of the inefficient and unsustainable procurement procedures as witnessed in the Kenyan public sector. These have led to firms putting emphasis on supply chain management practices. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of e-procurement adoption on supply chain management practices. The objectives of the study were to establish the influence of e-procurement adoption on partnership, information sharing and supply chain integration practice in tea firms in Kenya. The study was guided mainly by Diffusion of Innovation theory and Resource Based Theory. The research design adopted during the study was explanatory. From 12 tea firms a target population of 4200 respondents was set. Purposive and proportional sampling was used to select a sample size of 365 respondents among the staff, top management and suppliers. Questionnaires and structured interview schedule was used to collect data. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and linear regression were used to test strength of the relationship between variables. E-procurement adoption positively influence partnership (r=.554), information sharing (r=.247) and supply chain integration practices (r=.332). The e-procurement adoption positively influenced the partnership relationship, information sharing and supply chain integration practices. From the regression model, R2 for partnership was .307, with information sharing .016 and integration being .110 and showed that e-procurement adoption account for 30.7% partnership, 6.1% information sharing and 11% integration of the supply chain management practices. The predicted partnership practice β1= 0.534 information sharing practice β2= 0.269 and supply chain integration practice β3= 0.362 in relation to the e-procurement adoption was significant (p < 0.05). The tea firms should therefore embrace both E-procurement adoption and supply chain management practices to enhance supply chain performance