Public procurement like other public finance management functions has undergone a number of reforms resulting into the need for an electronic government procurement system with the objectives of improving governance through enhanced transparency and accountability; effectiveness through management information and efficient processes; and economic development through competitiveness and improved investment climate (Strategy & Roadmap for the implemetation of e-Government Procurement in Uganda, 2014). The application of information communication technology (ICT) is believed to have a potential of revolutionizing government operations and consequently improve efficiency in government service delivery.

The study will seek to examine the organizational attributes associated with e-government procurement adoption in Uganda’s local governments studying the case of Tororo district local government. This introductory chapter covers the background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, conceptual framework, scope of the study, significance of the study, limitations of the study and operational definition of terms and concepts.

1.1 Background of the study

This is built on four dimensions: historical, theoretical, conceptual and contextual backgrounds.

The global procurement reforms in public institutions emerged as a recommendation of World Bank in late 1990s (World Bank, 2003) and have subsequently gained much attention in recent years in both developed and developing countries (Cowell, 2009). Public Procurement reforms came as both legal and regulatory reforms to bring about transparency in the procurement process. These were later enrolled as vital elements of procurement decentralization, procurement professionalization, procurement institutionalization, procurement litigation and procurement privatization in the World (Burton, 2005). In Swaziland for instance, the procurement reform programme called for the Kingdom to adopt decentralization of procurement system, develop procurement plans, and methods to ensure that service delivery becomes efficient and effective (Walker, 2003). In USA, public procurement reforms were adopted with the aim of controlling procurement corruption that had succumbed the public sector organization (Cowell, 2009). Therefore, having decentralized procurement system, procurement plans, and methods emerged into the field of public procurement and service delivery (Hunja, 2003).

Before independence, public procurement in Uganda was being managed by Crown Agents – procurement agent for the British Overseas Colonies (Sunderland, 2007). Until 1990, the Central Tender Board (CTB) was the chief overseer of Public Procurement in Uganda. This derived its powers and Authority from the Central Tender Board regulations, 1977 established under the Public Finance Act. CAP 149. The CTB was established to regulate and control the purchase and sale of government stores and equipment, and the award of government contracts for goods, services and works (Kabateraine, 2012). The CTB could not address the procurements in the local government set up as well as other specialized agencies mainly the security forces, the liberalization policies had placed much of the economic activities in the hands of private sector who were the main suppliers to the government (Mamdani, 1997).

Procurement processes were becoming complex and demanding due to global trends especially the information explosion and use of computer. This required unique knowledge and expert to manage the now complex procurement processes. This complexity had equally been increased by overseas buying of commodities that would not be sourced locally.

In 1997, the local government act was enacted and this provided for the establishment of the local government tender boards, which were to manage procurements at the local government levels. In 1997, the procurement reforms commenced with the National Public Procurement forum being held in Entebbe at the request of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. This was co-chaired by the chairmen of CTB and Government Central Purchasing Corporation (GCPC). In attendance were also the representatives of government ministries, parastatal, and local government tender board members.

In 1998, there were two major reform issues namely the enactment of the 1998 local government financial and accounting regulations, which derived its powers from the 1997 local government Act. In the same year of 1998, and after the Entebbe forum, government appointed a 12 man task force, and this time the private sector was represented by Procurement and Logistics Management Association (PALMA), and the task force was to review the procurement legal and institutional set up and advice government on the next course of action. In its report, the task force noted major concerns namely, the lack of professionals in the procurement area and old procurement legal framework. In its 15^th January, 1999 report, it consequently recommended for the establishment of a procurement management structure. This was further reinforced by gains from the Abidjan conference of November/December 1998 by the African Development Bank (ADB) on public procurement reforms in Africa.

In 2000, the implementation of the reforms commenced with the cabinet endorsing the procurement reforms. The stepwise procedures were as follows; abolition of all existing procurement boards, establishment of one independent public procurement and disposal regulator – the PPDA, decentralization of procurement and disposal processes and approvals to respective PDEs, establishment of procurement and disposal units (PDUs) at each PDE staffed with professional trained personnel to manage procurement and disposal processes. The procurement entities taking full control of procurement processes through contracts committees whose membership is drawn from the staff of a PDE and accounting officers to take full procurement responsibilities except for security agencies, open and advertised systems of tendering, preparation and release of standardized bid documents for works, services, and supplies in three variants each for complex, medium and simple procurement activities, harmonized procurement in the local government with those of the central government and procurement to start and end within the PDE with policies from the Ministry of Finance (Kabateraine, 2012).

Electronic procurement was launched in 2015 as one of the public procurement reforms undertaken by government in order to improve service delivery. The e-government procurement refers to the process of purchase and sale of goods, works, and services through electronic methods primarily the internet (Public Procurement & Disposal of Public Assets Authority, 2015). The PPDA and Auditor General’s annual reports have many times challenged government entities of corruption in their procurement processes. (Minsitry of Finance Report, 2015). The government through the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) rolled out the e-government procurement systems beginning with 10 government entities in July 2015 (Daily Monitor, March 10th, 2015) The system seeks to reduce corrupt practices in procurement process and reduce delays in implementation of government projects.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates savings from implementation of e-government procurement to be in the range of 5- 8 % of the procurement value. Uganda spends approximately 65% (about UGX 7.754 trillion) annually of the government budget through procurement. (OECD, 2017). This implies that with e-procurement implementation, savings in the range of UGX 387 – 620 billion would be made per year. 60% of the government budget is expended through procurement. Despite some achievements, challenges still compromise the achievement of value for money and service delivery. The benefits of e-government procurement range from achievement of value for money, efficiency, accountability, transparency, governance to customer satisfaction. Given the real time integration with the programme, budgeting systems and integrated financial management system (IFMS), the late payments issue will be taken care of, tender information will be readily available to all bidders with internet access.

Electronic procurement is not well developed in public sector compared to the private sector in Uganda. Its growth has stagnated in the 10 piloting institutions. What can be seen as electronic in other government sectors is IFMS and government procurement portal (GPP) which is still lacking in almost all the sub counties of Uganda. The system is still at its infancy stage following its launch in 2015 and looks new to many Ugandans. They are not well versed with the operation of the system in electronic commerce.

1.2 Statement of the problem

The government of Uganda continues to undertake reforms to enable more effective public sector management and improve service delivery. To improve efficiency in utilization of public resources, government sought to continue strengthening the public financial management systems thus adopt the electronic-government procurement (e-GP) to provide a platform for increased transparency in procurement procedures and practices; improve efficiency in the procurement process, improve confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of transactions and develop a common database and electronic trail of procurements.

The government of Uganda launched a five year grand e-government adoption strategy. Running from 2015 until 2019, the strategy was to see the government adopt an e-government procurement system designed to empower public bodies to better manage public procurement (Public Procurement & Disposal of Public Assets Authority, 2015). An empirical study by Brack (2000) found that the conversion from paper based to e-purchasing resulted into a reduction of 5-10% purchasing price, 25-50% reduction in inventory level, a 5 day reduction in procurement cycle time and US $ 77 savings in requisition and administrative costs.

Despite the public procurement reforms and regulatory framework supporting the adoption of e-procurement as well as the anticipated benefits of e-procurement adoption, the procurement compliance check undertaken on 25 procuring and disposing entities (PDE’s) indicate that the level of e-procurement adoption in most PDEs is critically low and lacking in most cases (Public Procurement & Disposal of Public Assets Authority, 2017). Previous studies drew much attention on benefits derived from adoption of e-procurement, how to implement/adopt e-procurement, challenges of adoption of e-procurement. This study therefore seeks to examine the organizational attributes associated with the current status of e-government procurement adoption in Uganda’s local government sector studying the case of Tororo district local government.

1.3 Purpose of the study

The main objective of the study will be to examine the organizational attributes that influence the current status of e-government procurement in Tororo district local government.

1.4 Objectives of the study.

To assess how managerial decision influence adoption of e-government procurement in Tororo district local government.
To establish how information communication technology proficiency affects adoption of e-government procurement at Tororo district local government.
To examine how employee and user competence influence adoption of e-government procurement in Tororo district local government.

1.5 Research questions

How does managerial decision influence adoption of e-government procurement at Tororo district local government?
How has information communication technology proficiency affected the adoption of e-government procurement in Tororo district local government?
Does employee and user competence influence adoption of e-government procurement in Tororo district local government?

1.6 Scope of the study

1.6.1 Content scope

The study will focus on how organizational attributes influence adoption of e-government procurement in Tororo district local government. Organizational attributes will be restricted to management decision, information and communication technology proficiency and employee and user competence looking at how they influence adoption of e-government procurement.

1.6.2 Geographical scope

The study will be conducted at Tororo district local government involving all the 23 sub counties and the general hospital. Tororo district is located 230 kilometers east of the capital Kampala and is bordered by Mbale district to the north, Manafwa district to the north-east, Kenya to the east, Busia district to the south, Bugiri district to the south-west, and Butaleja district to the north-west. The reason for the selection of this locality is that it is one of the historical districts in Uganda that became operational in 1968 and has given “birth” to five districts. It therefore stands out to be one of the prominent districts which engages in massive procurement of goods, works and services that are required for service delivery to a bigger population. Secondly, the district is within the locality of the researcher and can therefore be accessed for information.

1.6.3 Time scope

The research study will focus on a period of five years from 2016 – 2020; the time the government of Uganda launched a five year grand e-government adoption strategy. Related literature concerning e-government procurement adoption will be reviewed to support the data collected. The study scope is intended to take a period of three months after approval of the research proposal by the University supervisors.

1.7 Significance of the study

Prudent management of public procurement has been identified as very important to accelerate national development. For this reason, successive governments have reformed procurement laws as a justification for judicious use of the taxpayer’s money. The introduction of the public procurement Act 2003 (PPDA Act, 2003) was thus perceived as a critical aspect of driving efficiency in public procurement. However, implementation of the Procurement Act is bedeviled with inefficiency, bureaucracy, lack of transparency, unfairness and discrimination in the selection and award of government contracts. This development has become a major source of worry that gradually erodes public and donor trust and confidence in the public procurement system.

It is therefore envisaged that the results of this study will determine the prospects and potential benefits of e-procurement and, the need to progressively move towards the adoption of e-procurement in public sector procurement. The study is also significant in view of the fact that, automating procurement would help in tracking, monitoring and auditing public procurement.

The crucial role e-procurement will play in building public and donor trust and confidence makes it important for this study to be undertaken to examine the factors that influence low adoption of electronic government procurement of the selected public procurement entity.

The study will add to the existing body of knowledge thus providing a basis for future research both by academicians and policy makers. Since the 2015 – 2019 e-procurement implementation strategy was not successful, the findings of this study will contribute to the success of the next implementation phase.

1.9 Conceptual Framework

Mugenda (2008) defines conceptual framework as a concise description of phenomenon under study accompanied by a graphical or visual depiction of the major variables of the study. According to Young (2009), conceptual framework is a diagrammatical representation that shows the relationship between dependent variable and independent variables. A conceptual framework shows the relationship between independent and dependent variable.

Organizational attributes

Managerial Decision

§ Top management commitment

§ Procurement planning & budgeting

E-Procurement Adoption

§ Use of e-catalogues

§ E-tendering

§ Electronic bid/quotation

§ E-ordering

§ E-informing/On-line reporting

§ Vendor management system

Information Communication Technology proficiency

§ ICT infrastructure

§ Internet accessibility

§ Reliability and affordability

Employee and user competence

§ Employee skills and knowledge

§ Employee and user willingness

Figure 1: Showing the relationship between organizational attributes and e-procurement adoption.

Source: Adapted from Chan and Chan (2004)

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter covers theoretical review, conceptual review, actual literature review and research gaps from previous studies on similar and related topics.

2.1 E-procurement

Electronic procurement or e-procurement is the use of various forms of Information Technology (IT), such as electronic mail, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and electronic market place to automate and streamline the procurement process in government entities, improving efficiency and transparency and thereby reducing costs of operation within and between government entities (Joyce & Chan, 2002). Thus, e-procurement is the application of electronic commerce in procurement.

E-procurement adoption refers the ability of procurement entities to use the Internet and Internet technologies to support their procurement processes. It encompasses the willingness and the level of acceptance to use e-procurement. These practices range from identification, evaluation, negotiation and configuration of optimal groupings of trading partners into a supply chain network which can then respond to changing market demands with greater efficiency (Hawkins & Wyld, 2003). Other benefits include: increased compliance with the law, for instance, Ugandan Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets-(PPDA) Act (2003); supply base rationalization, as e-procurement allows managing the supply base in a more efficient and effective way. E-procurement also provides higher transparency to both customers and suppliers on the overall purchasing process. The increasing losses in the procurement processes in the PDEs have been attributed to low adoption level of e-procurement as the ordinary procurement process has been blamed to be time consuming and has consistently scored low on achievement of value for money and transparency (National Procurement Baseline Survey, 2010). Thus, the adoption of e-procurement practices in Uganda’s local governments needs to be treated as a matter of urgency in order to achieve reduction in purchasing process costs through maverick buying reduction.

2.1.2 Managerial decision and adoption of e-procurement

Management is very vital and key in the running of the government institutions. Top management commitment have a major influence on the adoption of e-procurement as discussed by (Gori et al., 2017). Management readiness is an important driver for increasing e-procurement adoption and implementation in local governments.

Flynn and Davis (2016) indicates that e-procurement initiatives are driven by top management, however managers patronizing attitude towards employees may deter them from being innovative or adopt to a change idea such as shifting from manual procurement to e-procurement that could be beneficial to the whole organization. Like any other technological change, e-procurement brings change in an organization that requires organizational managers to adopt change management strategies towards making the transformation process success indicated by (Barahona et al., 2015). One way in which managers in organizations can reveal commitment to change is to have change management team structures that identifies who was doing the change management work as assessed by (Keramati et al., 2018).
Most major e- procurement initiatives are driven by top management. The Chief Executive Officers (CEO) should be directly involved in the early stages of the process. Managerial commitment towards e-procurement adoption has also been discussed by scholars concerning the style of leadership adopted by many managers. According to Dukić et al. (2017), almost all managers in the African Continent, emphasizes on bureaucratic practices with total reliance on rules and regulations that workers obey without questioning or offering constructive criticism. Managers patronizing attitude towards employees may hinder them from being innovative or adoptive to a change idea such as shifting from manual procurement to e-procurement that could be of benefit to the organizations (Sorte Junior,2016).

Wanjiru Muhia and Ofunya Afande (2015) assessed the determinants of e-procurement implementation in Kenyan state corporations within the ministry of finance. The study concluded that lack of employee competence hinders smooth adoption of e-procurement in the public sector and also, the inadequate legal framework was a challenge to e-procurement adoption. Chebii (2016) assessed the determinants of successful implementation of e-procurement in Kenya using the multiple regression technique.

Like any other technological change, e procurement brings change in an organization that requires organizational managers to adopt change management strategies towards making the transformation process success procurement Action Plan, (2005). One way in which managers in organizations can reveal commitment to change is to have change management team structures that identifies who was doing the change management work (Hasan, 2014).

According to Wirtz and Daiser (2018), change management structures outline the relationship between the project team and the change management team. Wirtz and Daiser (2018), further adds that the most frequent team structures include: – change management being a responsibility assigned to one of the project team members or an external change management team supporting a project team. The key in developing the strategy is to be specific and make an informed decision when assigning the change management responsibility and resources Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2009).

Managerial commitment towards e-procurement implementation has also been discussed by scholars concerning the style of leadership adopted by many managers. According to Mayer and Louw (2011), almost all managers of African organizations, perhaps because of societal norms and expectations emphasize bureaucratic practices with total reliance on rules and regulations that workers obey without questioning or offering constructive criticism (Svärd, 2014).

A study by Ndongko (2005) on Cameroon public service institutions revealed that despite the culture which emphasizes on rigid hierarchical relationships, managers who were seen by workers to be democratic in their techniques of management and such exerted low control over them elicited higher levels of adopting new changes within the organization compared to authoritarian ones. Implementation of e-procurement which is at time associated with change might require managers to commit themselves in realizing the importance of their employees in making the adoption a success. A study by Howell (2005) on Liberian workers and that by Greenhouse (2007) showed a considerable similarity exist in the work goals of employees around the world and that national differences regarding job related objectives were not as great as people thought. The findings of these studies indicate that human needs are universal, for workers to be motivated in adopting new ideas in an organization, it is important that organizational managers show commitment to motivate the work force and improve quality of work life. This will ease implementation of new technologies such as e-procurement within the local governments in Uganda.

2.2.3 Information Communication Technology (ICT) proficiency and e-government procurement

Many governments in the world now appreciate the important role played by ICT. The advent of internet technology has made it possible for governments to offer some key traditional processes online. By promoting information sharing; Maniam, Halimah and Hazman (2006) argue that the governments have been able to improve service delivery. In Kenya, for example, all government ministries have websites which contain very critical information which in the past could only be accessed by physically walking into the government offices and the process was not only tedious but also marred by corruption. Maniam et al (2018) claim that some governments have moved to use ICT in an effort to streamline the procurement process within the public sector. The key processes could range from identification of requirements, through payments to contract management.

Information communication technology provides for dynamism in operations and also allows customization to meet specific user needs and specifications. In procurement, ICT can play a critical role due to its ability to handle and analyze massive amount of data within a short period.

Di Maio (2001) envisages use of ICT in public procurement in e-government. E-government transforms both internal and external relations of public administration through ICT. ICT in procurement aims at optimizing service delivery, increase involvement of citizens in governance and also building more capacity in governance. The Kenya government strategy paper March (2004) stipulated a medium term initiative, e-procurement, which was envisaged to have been implemented by June 2007. The government through e-government aimed at enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of services, promoting accountability by ensuring easier access to information and also allowing the citizens to participate in the delivery of services thus enhancing good governance, empowerment and transparency. All these could only be achieved through information communication technology.

Croom and Brandon (2004) emphasize the critical role played by ICT in the stages of procurement; searching, sourcing, negotiation, ordering, receipt, and post-purchase review. According to Kalakota & Robison (1999) ICT can be used in procurement in activities such as selecting suppliers, purchasing, negotiating, agreeing with terms, monitoring the supplier performance among others. This further ensures efficiency and effectiveness of procurement and especially so in public procurement where public scrutiny therefore public interest takes centre stage in all processes. Rodovilsky & Hedge (2004) emphasized that use of ICT in procurement leads to improved operational performance.

2.2.4 Employee & user competence and e-procurement adoption

The development and implementation of electronic commerce business models, such as a procurement portal in organizations is a challenge that goes beyond mere technological functionality (Larsen et al. 2002). Top management support, organizational adaptation, and training of employees are examples of critical issues for the successful implementation of any IT-system (Kawalek et al. 2003). For the implementation of e-procurement in the public sector, an extra set of factors is considered to be influential. These include knowledge of workers, risks of building the portal, and legislative issues (Oliveira and Amorim 2001). Oliveira and Amorim suggest that three types of models can be considered in order to meet the specific demands related to implementation of e-procurement: The public model where all tasks, including investment and risks of building the portal is run by the government; The private model where all tasks are run by private entities that bear the investment risks of the project; The mixed model (public-private partnership) where participants share investment risks and the benefits of the project.

In 2015, the government of Uganda adopted Government Procurement Portal (GPP) as a mechanism to improve the means through which the PPDA could gather data to periodically assess the effectiveness, efficiency and transparency of the public procurement and disposal system in Uganda. GPP brought together the features of the Procurement Performance Measurement System (PPMS), the Register of Providers (RoP) and the Tender Portal. In the FY 2016/17, GPP was rolled out to 70 PDEs bringing the total number of Entities on the system to 169 (47% national coverage). The Authority was able to assess performance of 138 PDEs which entered data on the Portal. The total number of contracts entered into the portal and analyzed in the FY 2016/17 was greater compared to FY 2015/16. There was however a slight drop in the total value of procurements in the system in FY 2015/16 and FY 2016/17 (PPDA Annual Report FY 2016/17). This drop was as a result of some Entities that previously posted large values such as UNRA, and KCCA posting significantly lower values in the year of reporting. This was due to failure to conclude some of their large procurements due to delays in the procurement process and large budget cuts.

2.2.5 Adoption of E-procurement

Any organizations success relies on sound financial management. Due to liquidity problems, public projects are either delayed or not implemented as anticipated. Business and people without internet access may not participate in the processes of e-procurement (Njihia, 2013). There have been challenges with e-procurement system malfunctioning to a case that National and County Governments cannot literally pay the suppliers bills, creating problems for the firms and in the process causing a confidence crisis. There are infrastructure issues too required to support electronic procurement. This is a pushback against the anti-corruption aspect of the system. E-procurement is a solution of technology which enhances corporate buying by use of the internet (Jain & Bandyopadhayay, 2018). Eadie, Perera, Heaney and Carlisle (2017) indicate that e-procurement symbolizes an effective and vital development in the e-business employment in chain management of supply, note that an organization which uses e-procurement benefits from reduction of price in tendering, reduction of time in sourcing of materials, lower costs of administration, procurement staff reduction as well as communication improvement. Adoption of e-procurement is constructed to include e-tendering e-sourcing, e-ordering and e-informing.

As a major strategy in the development of initiatives and different programs of electronic procurement, contributing additional opportunities for business industry, leading to an economy that is globally competitive and assisting in securing an economic growth that is sustained (Lou & Alshawi, 2009). Vaidya, Sajeez and Callender (2016) observe that the primary benefit government agencies pursue to obtain adopting e-tendering is to lower the price of business doing and services delivery which are a bit community efficient. Vaidya, Sajeez and Callender (2016) further indicate that the gains from introduction of system of e-tendering in the sector of government is to bring value for money of tax payers, high effectiveness and efficiency, practice of consistent tendering all over government, enhances general initiative of e-commerce; as well as environmentally as a result of chiefly ‘paperless’ process.

Use of internet in decisions making strategies concerns where and how products and services are sourced (Farrington & Lysons, 2012). Barbara and Maxfield (2013) observed that, keeping pace with competition and delivering against strategic objectives procurement have to use state-of -the art technologies entailing e-sourcing. E-sourcing is a great and fast growing component where it requires various forms from sell-side and buy-side e-catalogs to post specifications and solicits of bids whereby sellers as well as buyers come together to trade.

During the sourcing of items many transactions that are of low value are performed, raising the effectiveness of the transactions of procurement to become valuable. Jahanshahi, Rezaei, Nawaser and Pitamber (2012), explains that the process of making and approving requisition of purchasing, placement of purchasing orders and reception of services and goods that are ordered, by use of a system of software that is based on the technology of the internet improves greatly the performance of the supply chain. In e-ordering case the services and goods which are ordered are indirect services and goods, that is, services and goods that are non-product related. Kim (2017), states that e-ordering improves greatly the performance of the supply chain because the placement of purchasing orders and reception of services and goods are ordered is enabled by using the technology of the internet.

Stone Braker (2006), observe that e-informing is a type of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) which is not associated directly with any stage in the process of purchasing such as ordering or contracting. E-informing means the gathering as well as the distribution process of the information of purchasing both to and from external and internal parties, by use of internet technology. Making sure that shared information quality has turned out to be an effective idea of the management of the supply chain. Croom and Johnston (2013), states that E-informing makes sure that quality together with accuracy, adequacy, criticality, timeliness and credibility improving performance of supply chain that is more noticeable.

2.3 Research gaps of the study

Studies have been done on e-procurement but majorly on adoption strategies, benefits and challenges. Ahimbisibwe, Tusime & Tumuhairwe (2016), conducted a study on Adoption of E-procurement Technology in Uganda: Migrating from the manual public procurement systems to the internet without looking at the factors conducive for e-procurement adoption. Organizations are facing different challenges associated with the advent and use of e-procurement. Overcoming such require understanding of organizational attributes that vary from sector to sector although some are cross cutting. Mose, Njihia & Magutu (2013), contend that successful implementation of e-procurement will require; employee and management commitment to success of adoption, reliability of information technology and supplier performance, monitoring the performance of e-procurement systems, user acceptance of e-procurement systems and top management support without reference to any organization hence presenting a content gap that this study has to cover. This study will therefore focus on organizational attributes that affect e-government procurement adoption at local government level and particularly Tororo district local government.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This chapter discusses the operational framework within which the facts of the study will be gathered and analyzed. It presents the research design, study population, sample size and selection, sampling techniques and procedure, data collection methods, measurement of the variables and instruments, validity and reliability of research instruments, data collection procedures, data analysis and how the ethical issues underlying the study are addressed.

3.1 Research design

The study will adopt a case study research design. This is because the research is focusing on one case. There is a debate on whether case study research design can be used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. According to Saunders, Thornhill, & Lewis (2015); Bhattacherjee (2012), a case study research design can be used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from respondents. In this study, both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected by use of interview guide and questionnaires respectively (Demeke, 2018). Interview guide will be used to collect data from Procurement and Disposal Unit (PDU) staff and Accounting Officer whereas questionnaires will be used to collect data from user departments and selected providers.

3.2 Study population and sample size

Using Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table for sample size determination, a total of 80 respondents will selected from a population of 90 as shown in table 1 below. These are preferred because they are directly involved in the procurement cycle (PPDA Act as amended, 2014). A total of 100 procurement transaction files conducted between 2015 and 2019 will be sampled and respondents asked if they adopted use of e-procurement in acquiring and providing the items.

Table 1: Showing study population and sample size

Category	Population	Sample size
PDU staff	3	3
Accounting Officer	1	1
User departments	60	52
Vendors	26	24
Total	90	80

3.3 Sampling technique

The study will employ simple random sampling technique for quantitative study and purposive sampling technique for qualitative study. Simple random sampling will be used to select user departments and vendors. Simple random sampling gives equal and independent chance of being selected as a member of the sample (Saunders et al.., 2015). Purposive sampling will be used to select PDU staff and Accounting Officer because they are the key players in the procurement cycle.

3.4 Data collection methods and instruments

Both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and instruments will be adopted.

3.4.1 Data collection for quantitative approach

For this part of the study, the questionnaire survey will be adopted.

Close-ended questions with a five Likert scale will be used to allow the respondents to agree or disagree with the item in the questionnaire. The questionnaire will be divided into four sections namely; background collecting demographic data of the respondents, section two will address management decision, section three will address information communication technology proficiency and section four will address employee and user competence. In each section, the respondent will be given instructions on how to complete the questions.

3.4.2 Data collection for qualitative approach

In this technique the researcher will carry out a face to face interaction with the respondent about various aspects of the research objectives. The face to face interview is preferred because it will make it possible to establish rapport with respondents as well as allowing the interviewer to observe and listen (Foucault, 1980). Interviews will be conducted for Procurement and Disposal Unit staff and Accounting Officer.

3.5 Data collection procedure

After approval of the research proposal, the researcher will obtain an introductory letter from the university as proof that the researcher is a student of Cavendish University. The researcher will present it to the respondents before administering the questionnaire or interviewing the respondents. The researcher will assure the respondents of utmost confidentiality in the entire process of the research study.

3.6 Measurement of variables

The data on variables will be measured at three levels which will include; bivariate level in which the researcher intends to concurrently consider two variables using presentation modes like cross tabulation., univariate and multivariate. The univariate level considers measurement and analysis of data at individual variable basis where the researcher uses measures of the mean, mode and frequencies. At the multivariate level, the researcher considers a combination of more than two variables at the same time and this is mainly used at higher level analysis to compute variable aggregates as well as the regression coefficient.

The questionnaire is prepared using a five point Likert scale which has; (5-Strongly Agree, 4-Agree, 3-Not Sure, 2- Disagree and 1-Strongly Disagree). The Likert scale measures attitudes, behaviors and values of individuals in regards to a given aspect. Therefore, the choice of this measurement is that each point on the scale carries a numerical score which will be used in the study of social attitude.

3.7 Data quality control

The study will account for both validity and reliability so as to assure and maintain quality.

3.7.0 Quantitative quality control

3.7.1 Validity of research instruments

According to Amin (2005) validity of a research instrument is when a tool contains questions that are in line with both theoretical and conceptual aspects of the study variables. Therefore, all research instruments will be validated by experienced scholars in procurement and postgraduate research studies whose input will be considered before the instruments are administered to their study sample. Through measuring content validity indices, experts will be asked to rate each item on the questionnaire, interview guide, and documentary checklist as Relevant (R) or Irrelevant (IR) whose averages will yield computations of Content Validity Index (CVI) that must be above 0.7 threshold as illustrated by formula:

CVI = Where n= Number of items rated as relevant, and N= Total no. of items in the instrument.

3.7.2 Reliability of research instruments

Reliability of a research instrument as defined by Kothari (2011) is the extent to which research findings can be replicated if another study was undertaken using the same research tools. This will be attained after piloting the questionnaires at the district from where data will be collected from 80 respondents that will be captured in Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) and tested for Cronbach’s reliability test to determine the levels of reliability that ought to be equal or above threshold of 0.7 as suggested by Amin (2005) for the instrument to be administered.

3.7.3 Qualitative data quality control

The interview guide will be vetted though a pilot study to make sure that its content measures all the variables involved in the study.

3.8 Data handling procedure

3.8.1 Data organization

Having collected/obtained quantitative data on questionnaires, this numeric data will be organized and entered in SPSS according to the sequence on the questionnaire and research objectives. Since the study will also collect qualitative data, a thematic content analysis will be employed to organize qualitative data from interviews and documentary checklist that will help in interpretation and processing of related content.

3.9 Data processing, analysis, and presentation

3.9.1 Quantitative data analysis

Data analysis involves reduction of accumulated data to a manageable size, developing summaries, looking for patterns and applying statistical techniques. Using statistical package for social scientists (SPSS) to process quantitative data, the study will be in position to avail descriptive frequency tables that will generate preliminary findings and later inferential tables will be used to generate conclusive findings and to test guiding research hypotheses for rejection/acceptance (Amin, 2005). To test the research hypotheses, the study will use Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient results of both simple and multiple regression analysis to determine whether different organizational attributes predict adoption of e-government procurement in Tororo district local government.

3.9.2 Qualitative data analysis

Data collected from interviews will be transcribed and edited to ensure completeness and accuracy of results. The qualitative data will be categorized into meaningful information to supplement quantitative data (Creswell, 2014).

3.10 Ethical considerations

The ethical considerations will be taken into account throughout data collection. First, each selected respondent will be informed that his or her response is voluntarily and those who will provide verbal and written concert will be taken part in the study.

Secondly, a clear introduction and elaboration of the objectives of the study will be given to every respondent before engaging him or her in the field work. Thirdly all research tools will have an introduction and participants identities will be kept anonymous, to avoid any harm to respondents. Furthermore, the study will abide by the ethics of social research ranging from professional ethics to those concerning researcher to respondent relationship. In addition, all those who will assist the researcher in one way or the other will be given due respect. Acknowledgement of other scholar’s works will be maintained throughout the research process.

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