Barriers to e-procurement adoption in the construction industry of developing countries: a TOE and fuzzy DEMATEL approach

Purpose The adoption of e-procurement has brought significant improvements to the procurement process in the construction industry. However, reports consistently show low e-procurement adoption in developing countries, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, with an adoption rate of 25.33%. This highlights a significant gap in e-procurement adoption across various sectors, including construction. The slow uptake can be attributed to various barriers that need to be systematically identified and addressed to fully realize its potential. The present study aims to systematically review the barriers to e-procurement adoption, identify the most critical ones and provide corresponding recommendations, taking Ethiopia as a case study. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the objectives, a multi-stage methodological approach was employed. First, a literature review identified a list of barriers within the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework. The second stage involved the selection of a case study. In the third stage, qualified experts were selected, and key data collection procedures were carried out. In the final stage, the collected data were analyzed using the fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach. Findings The study results revealed five key barriers, among which organizational barriers (“Resistance to change (O2)” and “High cost of investment (O4)”) and environmental barriers (“Insufficient government support (E2)” and “Lack of legal and regulatory framework (E1)”) fall into the cause group. This indicates that e-procurement adoption is mainly shaped by the characteristics of construction organizations and their operating environments. Practical implications This study contributes to the construction technology body of knowledge by reviewing e-procurement adoption barriers within the TOE framework while identifying critical barriers and proposing several practical implications for governments, regulatory bodies and construction organizations to facilitate the diffusion of e-procurement in developing countries. Originality/value This research refines the TOE framework using fuzzy DEMATEL to propose a context-specific conceptual framework for developing countries' construction sectors, clarifying the importance of barriers and their causal relationships via expert opinions. By incorporating fuzzy logic to address vagueness in expert responses, the present study avoids the biased or imprecise results overlooked in prior research.