Graficar en tiempo real las aceleraciones obtenidas en cada uno de los ejes

The degree of assimilation of e-Tender through a TMP across all participant councils is summed up by Alpha 3 commenting on the executive’s e-Procurement & e-Tender knowledge as ‘most guys are over 50 … not very electronic savvy.. 3 or 4 out of 10 for IT competency… wouldn’t say much about digital because they’d probably embarrass themselves’. To a similar question on the executives feeling of effectiveness of e-Tender, Echo 2 states ‘I don’t think they would know, they’d not have a clue - frankly’. These two comments show a high degree of inertia relating to assimilation, a factor not limited to these councils but rather existing across the seven councils (Table 15, Table 16 & Table 17).

The early research leading to the understanding of assimilation of innovative technology centred around Meyer & Goes’ (1988, p.897) full acceptance, utilisation and

institutionalisation. A contemporary version of public authority e-Procurement adoption and assimilation using the early concepts by Vaidya & Campbell’s (2014, p.229 & 230) provides both a definition (Refer 3.2.4 Public authority e-Procurement adoption and assimilation) and framework (Figure 16 - Adapted e-Tender adoption & assimilation framework) adapted to e-Tender through a TMP for this research project. The Vaidya & Campbell’s (2014) assimilation framework will be tested against the data from the seven councils of this research project. Adoption in the previous section was a test of the

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Figure 16 - Adapted e-Tender adoption & assimilation framework

(Adapted from Vaidya & Campbell (2014))

Intention (analogy to adoption) - plans to investigate and implement an e-Tender application. All seven councils have implemented at least one e-Tender TMP application. The intention is not singularly aligned to the initial implementation or adoption decision, the intention is an action to meet a tactical, operational or strategic requirement.

Evaluation – in 2012 the SA LGAP obtained a licence for Vendor Panel and conducted a pilot evaluation of this specialised council e-Tender TMP. This pilot evaluation has resulted in Vendor Panel becoming a cornerstone e-Tender TMP across SA. None of the Victorian and NSW councils mentioned any evaluative processes underway for other e-Tender TMPs.

Commitment – the specific strategies leading to the full acceptance, utilisation and institutionalisation of e-Tender through a TMP. An e-Tender TMP has no

commonality: it is a market mechanism of service provision or what Neumann et al (2007, p.144) sees as no single best solution for all sourcing activities. All TMPs are individually unique in the service applications and how they provide compliance methods, if at all, to the various state statutes. Commitment is deeply ingrained into the individual council’s procurement policy and procedures. What is missing is the council executive strategy leading to how the e-Tender TMP will be utilised across the business units and their impact on community services. This could lead to a statement, policies and procedures are delegated authorities from the executive; it is the quality and intention of the policies and procedures which impact

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effectiveness. Neumann et al (2007, p.144) saw policies and procedures as market mechanisms comprising of a set of rules, process which govern the operations and the allowable practice.

Deployment and/or Limited Deployment – All seven councils have deployed one or more forms of e-Tender TMP into its operations. A TMP whether commercial or

government consists of complex applications and reasoning for usage, relates to the invidual domain of councils. Council Golf have deployed seven TMP applications and these are used to depict the business unit user requirements (Table 19). Another way of viewing deployment is cognitive to the tender thresholds and open tender, either by compliance to statutory requirements or the self-determination of individual councils (Table 14). Deployment usage of TMPs by the seven councils could also be considered limited deployment due to the non-consideration of all TMP applications.

Table 19 - Council Golf TMP deployment usage

Council Golf TMPs Description of use

TenderLink Open Tender – statutory compliance

Vendor Panel Development opportunity – limited deployment

CBRJO No longer operational

RMS Reduce transaction costs

LGP Potential for cost saving

Regional Procurement Maverick spend

Public works Statutory compliance

Rejection – evaluation and rejection. Council Echo provides an example of evaluation and rejection of a TMP as an additive application to their internal data management system. Echo 1 comments ‘so in the last year we looked at their e-Tender module which they have only developed in the last few years, it’s fairly much in its infancy, it’s a bit basic’. Another aspect to evaluation and rejection is provided by council Golf through Golf 1’s attitude to panels. To the question of usage of RFQ/RFTs through Vendor Panel, Golf 1 stated ‘I don’t put all them through - no’. On the surface this is rejection of a tried and proven process, however the rejection dives deeper into institutional pressures and the absence of procurement policy and procedures.

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The common element in determining the degree of assimilation across the seven councils and a test of the Vaidya & Campbell (2014) definition, hinges around the key words of strategy, diffusion, operational and transactional (Refer 3.2.2). The seven councils all have degrees of difference to these key words and therefore consolidating the empirical data into an outcomes framework for consideration of resistance to effectiveness is an outcome requirement of this research project (Table 20). In consequence, collectively TMPs do not actively facilitate conditions to create effectiveness for councils, although individually TMPs provide applications to enhance council’s effectiveness. Effectiveness as a measurement is a consideration for inclusion into the Vaidya & Campbell (2014) adapted (Figure 16) adoption and assimilation framework.

Table 20 - The outcomes of Assimilation of a TMP

Assimilation Facilitation Barriers

Strategy Extending the statutory and/or policy

and procedures for higher levels of measured value

Influence from non- operational organisations and legal interpretation

Diffusion and utilisation TMP selection as an opportunity for implementation of quality processes across the e-Tender operations

Policy and procedures not operationalised

Operations Development of standards to

facilitate unique council requirements No recognition of a need to re-structuring procurement from an administrative service to a strategic element

Transactional Implement performance

measurement through TMP

Procurement (including tender) is more than an approved budget Bold is the summarised outcome – the themes that fall naturally into explanation