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The effect of technology readiness on e-procurement adoption in Zanzibar’s public sector: A case of the Zanzibar Public Procurement Regulatory Authority
Noel Peter Mrope
Abstract
Even while e-procurement technologies have become more widely used worldwide, many underdeveloped nations, including Zanzibar, still struggle to fully digitize their procurement procedures. This study looked at how technology readiness affected the Zanzibar Public Procurement Regulatory Authority's (ZPPRA) adoption of e-procurement. Based on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) architecture and Parasuraman's Technology Readiness Index (TRI), the study evaluated how e-procurement adoption is influenced by optimism, innovativeness, discomfort, and insecurity. 85 employees completed structured questionnaires as part of a quantitative research design, and 70 valid responses were evaluated using descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS (version 28) and AMOS (version 26). The results showed that e-procurement adoption is positively and significantly impacted by technical readiness. In particular, while discomfort and uneasiness limited adoption, optimism and inventiveness increased user confidence and system utilization. However, effective implementation is still hampered by institutional and governance issues such as inadequate Information and Communication Technology [ICT] infrastructure, conflicting oversight agency mandates, and political meddling. The findings show that stronger optimism and innovativeness, coupled with lower discomfort and insecurity, enhance the effective use of the E-ProZ system. This highlights that e-procurement success in Zanzibar depends equally on users’ readiness and supportive technology. The study suggests that in order to improve technology-driven procurement reforms in Zanzibar and other developing contexts, ICT capacity should be increased, staff digital competency should be strengthened, institutional autonomy should be ensured, and governance structures should be aligned.
