Digital procurement capability and sustainable SME performance in Ghana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem

Abstract Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the developing entrepreneurial ecosystem in Ghana, but their procurement processes are mostly manual, disjointed and resource-intensive, with economic, environmental and social implications. E-procurement is widely lauded as a digital enabler of sustainable enterprise performance; however, empirical evidence in the sub-Saharan African SME context remains limited. This study examines whether, and to what extent, e-procurement adoption is associated with each of the three pillars of sustainable SME performance (economic, environmental and social) among SMEs in Koforidua, Ghana, and examines the barriers that constrain fuller utilisation among adopting firms. A cross-sectional explanatory quantitative design was employed, interpreted through the integrated Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Technology–Organisation–Environment (TOE) framework. A structured questionnaire collected data from 70 SMEs (79.5% response rate). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, Pearson correlation and OLS regression in SPSS v27. The composite e-procurement adoption index was a significant positive predictor of all three pillars: economic (β = 0.634, R 2 = 0.402), social (β = 0.578, R 2 = 0.334) and environmental (β = 0.521, R 2 = 0.271) performance (all p < .001), with the association strongest for the economic pillar and weakest for the environmental pillar. The most important barrier to fuller utilisation was software cost (84.3%), followed by internet-access and skills constraints. The study concludes that e-procurement adoption is positively, though unevenly, associated with all three dimensions of sustainable SME performance, and that easing cost, connectivity and skills constraints is vital to realising e-procurement as a means of inclusive sectoral transformation in Ghana.