Public e-procurement adoption: economic and political rationality

E-procurement is on the political agenda throughout Europe. Denmark is among the forerunners with respect to establishing a public procurement portal. So far, the overall success of the public e-procurement portal has been limited. In this paper, we discuss possible explanations for the limited success. Our focus is on whether or not the underlying mechanisms and rationalities supporting electronic marketplaces in private business are present in the public sector. The paper suggests that efficiency explanations of electronic marketplaces should be considered alongside with specific political-structural elements that characterize the public sector.