Doing Business with the Virtual State, Factors Affecting Enacted eMarketplace Systems in the Public Sector

Governments at all levels are implementing electronic procurement systems, and in particular sponsoring eMarketplace systems. The selection and implementation of eMarketplace systems is complex within the private sector. The procurement environment of the public sector is constrained a range of factors which are additional to those found in standard business transactions, greatly increasing this complexity. This paper presents an analysis of some of those factors affecting the enacted technology of eMarketplace systems within Fountain’s framework for technology enactment in the virtual state. It draws on a vignette (small case study) to illustrate how the choice of objective information technology is moderated and constrained by the institutional arrangements, both socio political and legal which affect procurement by governments. The Fountain framework is seen to be both robust and extensible, providing further evidence of its applicability in this area.