تأمین الکترونیکی تجهیزات در صنعت مواد غذایی و نوشیدنی یونانی:محرک ها و موانع

Most empirical research on e-procurement has focused on large economies and technology-related industries, paying little attention to smaller economies and traditional industries. This paper addresses this gap by presenting a study on the state and development of e-procurement in the Greek food and drink industry, based on four case studies with some of the largest organisations in the industry. This study indicates that the uptake of e-procurement has been slow and reveals some important impediments, such as the uncertainty of the technology and its benefits, the lack of infrastructure and skills and the traditional nature of the industry. These results led to a series of findings, propositions for further investigation. The drivers and impediments to e-procurement have been classified into four different levels: global, country, industry and firm. Each of these levels requires a different approach to dealing with it, having implications for practitioners and policymakers.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is an established driver of change and a source of competitive advantage in many business environments. This papers deals with one particular but very important element of ICT, namely, e-procurement. The extant literature on e-procurement has focused mainly on large economies and technology oriented industries. The main challenges facing researchers in this area are the newness of the subject, the absence of clear definitional constructs and the lack of conceptual frameworks applicable in different industries and contexts. Most studies on e-procurement have focused on the USA and major European and Asian economies. However, these countries have major differences in economic, technological and social terms, compared to other smaller economies. Research has revealed that issues such as size, costs, competitive pressures, slack resources and IT expertise are some of the main factors affecting the adoption of various technologies including e-procurement (Permkumar and Roberts, 1999; Zheng et al., 2004; Lee, 2004; Joo and Kim, 2004). However, these factors are likely to be substantially different from one country or industry to another. This paper focuses on the Greek food and drink manufacturing industry; one of the largest and most dynamic industrial sectors in the country (Euromonitor, 2004). The main objective is to identify the drivers and impediments of implementing e-procurement in this context. An exploratory study was conducted based on four case studies with some of the largest food and drink manufacturers in Greece (all with international operations). The names of the companies have been omitted for confidentiality reasons. The paper is organised as follows. First, an overview or the Greek food and drinks industry is presented, followed by a review of the theoretical background on e-procurement. The research methodology is presented, and the four case studies are described in detail. The outcomes of the case studies are then used to develop a series of propositions concerning the development of e-procurement in the Greek food and drink industry. The paper ends with conclusions and directions for future research.

Most empirical research in the field of e-procurement is based on USA data and to a lesser extent on data from other large economies (e.g. UK, France, Germany, and Japan). The findings from a smaller economy in the European Union, such as Greece, provide a different vintage point. This research exploits this opportunity by proposing two questions: What are the impacts and the drivers of e-procurement in the Greek food and drink industry? What impediments prevent Greek food and drink companies from adapting e-procurement? Since three of the four companies participating in the study have not implemented e-procurement, the research revealed more impediments than drivers. The most important impediments were the traditional nature of the industry, the lack of infrastructure and resources by the suppliers, the general satisfaction with current procurement systems and the uncertainty about the profitability of this type of ventures. The results were consistent across the two sets of interviews with a 2-year gap between them. The impediments identified in the research are also consistent with those acknowledged in the literature such as, uncertainty of the technology, need for cultural change, immaturity of electronic trade, and perceived lack of value. Therefore, the research has helped to validate these previous findings, describing the role they have played in the development of e-procurement in the Greek food and drink industry. The impediments have been classified into four levels: global, country, industry and firm. The classification has implications for both policy and practice because it provides a structure for the issues affecting different stakeholders. For organisations playing at a global role in technology development and regulation it raises issues about the security and cost-effectiveness of the technology. For individual countries and regions, it highlights the need for developing logistical and telecommunications infrastructure required to support the technology. For industries, it points out the need to support the development of skills required to implement the technology. Finally, for individual firms highlights various different factors affecting their potential for successfully implementing e-procurement. This can help to guide their decision as to when and how to embark on an e-procurement project. E-Procurement may be very influential and beneficial; however if companies do not have clear visibility of costs and benefits, they are unlikely to invest. This was one of the main reasons preventing three of the case study companies from implementing e-procurement. This research was exploratory and had the main goal of identifying the key issues concerning e-procurement in the Greek food and drink industry. The case study approach, although time consuming, was helpful in identifying the issues from the perspective of managers making decisions in leading organisations in the sector. The use of case studies also has its limitations, particularly in terms of generalisation. For this reason, the use of other research techniques that allow covering a broader range of organisations in the industry is suggested as an area for further research. Other potential areas for further research concern the testing of the propositions developed in this research in other economies and in other industries.