Towards full integration: eProcurement implementation stages

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify different maturity stages of eProcurement adoption. eProcurement (i.e. electronic purchase of indirect goods), is a growing reality and it is spreading among companies. However, even inside a growing trend, no and low adopters can still be found, and those already using eProcurement go through many intermediate levels. According to the literature, there can be many factors influencing eProcurement adoption but clear approaches and maturity stages are still not defined. Design/methodology/approach – This paper proposes a general framework in which eProcurement maturity is measured by three components: level of adoption, technology and organizational objectives. The framework was applied to 13 case studies of information technology purchases of companies in different sectors; thus, indentifying different approaches that have been clustered in three maturity stages. Findings – First of all, a quite strong relationship is found between eProcurement adoption and technology in place. As far as organizational objectives are concerned, some interesting linkages are found with both the adoption and technological functionalities. These patterns of adoption are grouped into three clusters, named basic, intermediate and advanced. Practical implications – The results of this paper can be useful for practitioners trying to position a company into a maturity model and verify the coherence of the adoption with the technological and organizational choices. Originality/value – The originality of this paper lies in a new framework of analysis of the eProcurement strategies that allows the identification of different maturity stages.