2010:081 MASTER'S THESIS Investigating Benefits and Limitations of applying e-procurement in B2B Automakers companies in Iran Behnam Bahreman Luleå University of Technology Master Thesis, Continuation Courses Marketing and e-commerce Department of Business Administration and Social Sciences Division of Industrial marketing and e-commerce 2010:081 - ISSN: 1653-0187 - ISRN: LTU-PB-EX--10/081--SE In The Name of GOD The Compassionate, The Merciful Contents 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 E-procurement in the B2B Automaker market ............................................................................ 1 1. 1.2 Auto Industry in Iran................................................................................................................... 2 1.1.2.1 History ...................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1.2.2. Auto manufacturing companies in Iran.................................................................................... 4 1. 2.Research problem .......................................................................................................................... 6 1. 3.Research purpose ........................................................................................................................... 7 1. 4.Research Questions........................................................................................................................ 8 1. 5.Concept Definition......................................................................................................................... 8 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 E-commerce and the Internet.......................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Procurement.................................................................................................................................. 10 2.2.1 Procurement Definition....................................................................................................... 10 2.2.2 Why procurement is important ............................................................................................. 11 2.2.3 Emerging technologies to support procurement ................................................................... 12 2.3 E-procurement .............................................................................................................................. 13 2.3.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 13 2.3.2 Electronic procurement innovation....................................................................................... 16 2.3.3 The purchasing process......................................................................................................... 18 2.3.4 The role of E-procurement in the purchasing process .......................................................... 19 2.3.5 E-procurement Model ........................................................................................................... 21 2.3.6 Various forms of e-procurement........................................................................................... 23 2.3.7 E-procurement adoption........................................................................................................ 26 2.3.8 Who should consider E-procurement.................................................................................... 28 2.3.9 What it takes to be an e-procurement Leader ....................................................................... 29 2.3.10 Advances make e-procurement a better Value ................................................................... 29 2.3.11 An Example of one of the best practice Case Studies......................................................... 31 2.4 E-procurement Process................................................................................................................. 35 2.5 Benefits and Barriers of e-procurement........................................................................................ 39 2.5.1 The Benefits / Drivers........................................................................................................... 39 2.5.2 The Barriers / Drawbacks ..................................................................................................... 42 2.6 Benchmarking requirement for the success of e-procurement...................................................... 45 2.6.1 Competitive assessment........................................................................................................ 46 2.6.2 Capabilities and Enablers...................................................................................................... 47 2.7 Conceptualization and frame of reference .................................................................................... 51 2.7.1 Conceptualization ................................................................................................................. 51 3. Methodology.......................................................................................................................................... 57 3.1 Research Purpose.......................................................................................................................... 57 3.2 Research Approach....................................................................................................................... 60 3.3 Research Strategy ......................................................................................................................... 62 3.4 Sample Selection........................................................................................................................... 64 3.5 Data Collection Method................................................................................................................ 65 3.6 Data Analysis................................................................................................................................ 66 3.7 Reliability...................................................................................................................................... 67 4. Data Analysis......................................................................................................................................... 69 E-procurement Model ...................................................................................................................... 69 5. Findings, Conclusions and Implications ............................................................................................. 77 References.................................................................................................................................................. 91 List of Tables: Table 1........................................................................................................................................................ 13 Table 2........................................................................................................................................................ 17 Table 3........................................................................................................................................................ 23 Table 4........................................................................................................................................................ 37 Table 5........................................................................................................................................................ 50 Table 6........................................................................................................................................................ 62 Table 7........................................................................................................................................................ 64 List of Figures: Figure 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2 ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3 ..................................................................................................................................................... 22 Figure 4 ..................................................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 5 ..................................................................................................................................................... 58 Appendixes: Blank Questionnaire ................................................................................................................................. 81 Questionnaire ...........................................................................................................................................