Introduction of a public sector e-procurement solution: Lessons learned from disappointing adoption

Abstract

In this article, we look at the reasons why the introduction of the public sector Internet Marketplace - ehandel.no - has thus far not been a success in the County Municipality of Soør-Trøndelag (STFK), as compared to the original ambitions regarding usage volume for this channel. To look into the situation, we have interviewed users of ehandel.no in STFK, and in other public organizations which are seen as successful (given their usage volume objectives), such as Trondheim municipality. We have used various acceptance theories in order to analyze why the users accept the same system to different degrees. The theories were utilized prior to the interviews in order to formulate interview questions. Afterwards, we used the same theories to analyze the results. The results indicate that good product catalogues, motivated users, compulsory use of the system when possible, and renegotiation of contracts with the suppliers are some of the most important pre-requisites in order to achieve success using ehandel.no. © 2008 International Federation for Information Processing.