Developing and Testing an Accountability-Centered e-Procurement Implementation Assessment Model: A Case Study of the Roads and Highways Division in Bangladesh

The Government of Bangladesh has implemented statutory instructions outlined in the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2006 and Public Procurement Rules (PPR) 2008 to enhance its public procurement system. Despite these efforts, manual tendering processes by public procurement agencies have faced persistent challenges. To address these issues, the Ministry of Planning introduced an electronic procurement (e-GP) system in 2011, guided by the e-Government Procurement (e-GP) Guideline 2011, as part of a transformative vision for public procurement. However, limited research has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the e-GP system since its implementation. This study aims to identify critical factors influencing the successful implementation of e-procurement in Bangladesh, examine challenges associated with the system, and develop an efficient e-procurement implementation assessment model. Data were collected through survey questionnaires administered to 206 Public Entity (PE) officers across eleven zones of the Roads and Highways Division (RHD). The data were analyzed using SPSS software to construct a multiple linear regression (MLR) model and test eight hypotheses related to e-procurement implementation. Accountability emerged as one of the key factors, with its corresponding hypothesis (Ha) being accepted. The findings of this research provide valuable insights for academics, practitioners, policymakers, and researchers, contributing to the theoretical and practical understanding of e-procurement in public procurement systems. The study’s novel contribution lies in the development of a theoretical framework for an e-procurement implementation assessment model, which can guide future advancements and policy-making in public procurement in Bangladesh.