An extended TOE model for digital procurement adoption of Chinese construction industry: A case study of H group

With the emergence of digital transformation, Chinese construction companies have an increasing need to adopt digital procurement (D-procurement), however there is lack of theoretical background to guide and support these adoption decisions. This study aims to fill the research gap through the provision of an extended Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) model with critical success factors (CSF) for D-procurement adoption success (DAS). In the research, a case study approach is applied and H Group is selected since it is one of the best D-procurement examples in China. The study includes three parts. First, a systematic literature review was conducted, and 17 CSF were identified from 12 selected studies. Second, an in-depth interview with 17 selected experts elaborated their opinions on the previously identified CSF, and derived 8 CSF that were important for real cases. Furthermore, based on the relationships between the factors found through the interview, an extended TOE model was proposed, using the technology, organisation, and environment as the independent variables, business model innovation (BMI) as the mediator variable, entrepreneur leadership (EL) as the moderator variable, and DAS as the dependent variable. Third, a final questionnaire survey was conducted where 136 effective questionnaires were collected, the model was formally validated through statistical data analysis and its value was highlighted and demonstrated. The present study significantly contributes to field of D-procurement adoption for construction companies by providing a theoretical framework for practice and an extended TOE model for research.