Barriers to smart procurement implementation in the Sri Lankan construction sector: an empirical investigation

Abstract

Smart procurement has the potential to improve decision-making, efficiency, and transparency in the procurement process using digital technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and building information modelling. Despite the benefits of smart procurement techniques, their adoption remains low due to various barriers. This study investigates the barriers to smart procurement implementation in construction industry in Sri Lanka. A mixed-method research approach was used, beginning with a literature review to identify key barriers stated in global context, followed by a questionnaire survey of 30 industry experts with a significant procurement experience to assess their significance. The Relative Importance Index (RII) method was used to evaluate and rank the significance of identified barriers, while qualitative responses were analysed using thematic analysis to understand the perceived level of smart procurement adoption in the industry and to support the statistical findings. The results show that the most critical barrier is high implementation costs, which are followed by limited management support, data integrity concerns, legal and regulatory challenges, and cybersecurity risks. The qualitative analysis also reveals that small and medium-sized businesses in Sri Lanka still use traditional procurement methods, while smart procurement adoption is still restricted and mostly concentrated within large scale organizations. These findings provide policymakers and industry stakeholders with clear evidence on priority barriers, enabling the implementation of targeted strategies to address each barrier and promote the adoption of smart procurement in Sri Lanka's construction sector.