Towards an Understanding of e-Procurement Adoption: A Case Study of Six Hotels in Hong Kong

E-procurement has recently been adopted in different industries. As such, companies use it as a strategic tool for lowering procurement costs and improving process efficiencies. Yet, the adoption of e-procurement in the hotel industry has been surprisingly low, despite its huge potential. Previous studies on factors affecting e-procurement adoption have mainly been in the manufacturing field, and may not be able to fully explain the low adoption in hotels. The main objective of this study is to develop an alternative theoretical model and explore the key factors that are associated with the low adoption of e-procurement specifically in the hotel industry in Hong Kong, a major tourism destination in Asia. Using a case-study approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with six senior procurement employees in different classes of hotels. Six major factors were identified: (1) technical factors, (2) perceived benefits, (3) conflicts between hotel owners and management, (4) resistance to change, (5) product diversity, and (6) rumours. A new model is proposed to show how these factors affect e-procurement adoption in hotels. The findings can help hotel managers understand how to develop a more effective adoption strategy for e-procurement.