Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Procurement Management

 

Special issue on: "Strategic e-Procurement Management"

Guest Editor: Professor Paul Phillips, University of Kent, UK

As the traditional purchasing activity declines in efficacy, e-procurement grows in intensity. However, with procurement professionals now realising that new e-procurement processes need to be contextualised, many organisations operate multiple e-procurement solutions. An overall e-procurement strategy should incorporate the alignment of various processes and solutions, as organisations pursue different digitisation migration paths and confront different issues at each distinct stage. Advances in e-business technology have opened up new possibilities for how companies can create value.

Several themes of research concerning the assessment and the benefits of e-procurement have advanced the academic literature. Constant change has meant that the traditional procurement function is now being asked to generate more value. It can no longer be merely considered just as a function with a defined set of operational tasks. To date, however, many organisations have not recognised the full scope of strategic performance benefits that e-procurement makes possible. Indeed, organisations’ narrow focus on cost reduction is obscuring the bigger picture, i.e. that the e-procurement activity will continue to rise up the corporate ladder.

A successful e-procurement implementation project can become a positive enabler of capability in that it allows processes to be conducted better, faster, differently, more efficiently, in parallel or allows completely new processes to be implemented. Yet, some practitioners are now questioning whether the benefits of e-procurement have been oversold and are looking to re-invent their e-procurement processes. Moreover, the various change management problems that impede successful implementation, illustrate potential avenues for researchers and practitioners.

Subject Coverage
Articles in this special issue will consider, but are not limited to, some of the recent developments in e-procurement practice such as:

• Strategic procurement
• Collaborative e-procurement
• E-procurement performance measurement
• Relationship between e-procurement expectation and real life experiences
• Public sector e-procurement
• Military e-procurement
• Service sector e-procurement

These areas are just indicative and this special issue would welcome papers that contribute to both the theory and practice of e-procurement.

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere

All papers are refereed through a peer review process. A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submitting papers are available on the Author Guidelines page

Important Dates

Abstracts and proposals (max1500 words) by: 29 February, 2008

Final drafts of accepted papers by: 31 July 2008