Information Technology, Organizational Structure, Stakeholder Involvement and Supplier Order Fulfilment in Public Procurement: A Case of Selected Suppliers in Kampala – Uganda

Abstract

The study examined the influence of information technology, organizational structure, and stakeholder involvement on supplier order fulfilment in public procurement. The study motivation was derived on the continued failure by most suppliers to deliver accurate, complete, and timely orders to Procuring and Disposing Entities (PDEs) which has resulted in the loss of business to some of them. A quantitative and cross-sectional research design was used in the study with a sample size of 338 suppliers. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23 with a focus on descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis. It was revealed that there is a positive and significant influence of information technology, organizational structure, and stakeholder involvement on supplier order fulfilment in public procurement. Through regression analysis, it was confirmed that information technology, organizational structure and stakeholder involvement are all significant predictors accounting for 24.8% of the variance in supplier order fulfilment. These findings are supported by the complexity theory in which self-organisation, networking, responsiveness, and adaptation are considered crucial in a dynamic business environment. It was concluded that all the predictor variables of the study are pre-requisites to supplier order fulfilment. Therefore, it is recommended that suppliers need to embrace and integrate information technology into business operations, adopt a centralized structure where decisions are made at the top level with formal procedures of operation and standardization of operations. There is also a need to consult customers before and during contract implementation as well as engage them in decisionmaking processes and different operational activities. This will help firms in understanding the business environment well.

Keywords: Information Technology, Organizational Structure, Stakeholder Involvement and Supplier Order Fulfilment.