Beyond Technology: Why Social Readiness Matters More Than Digital Infrastructure in Procurement and Supply Chain Efficiency in Ghana

Abstract

Digital procurement is widely promoted as a mechanism for improving transparency, compliance, accountability, and efficiency in public sector supply chains. However, the assumption that digital infrastructure alone can deliver these outcomes remains insufficiently examined in institutionally complex environments such as Ghana. This article investigates whether social readiness exerts a stronger influence on procurement and supply chain efficiency than digital infrastructure. Drawing on data from a broader doctoral study, the article uses an explanatory sequential mixed methods design that integrates quantitative survey evidence with qualitative interview insights. The findings reveal a clear socio technical mismatch within Ghanaian procurement institutions. Although digital systems have created a moderate technical foundation, the supporting social environment remains weak, particularly in relation to structured training, interdepartmental coordination, and organisational support. The study further finds that the Socio Technical Development Process explains 58.4% of the variance in procurement and supply chain efficiency, with social readiness exerting a stronger predictive effect than technical infrastructure. While digital systems improved tracking, accountability, compliance, and data quality, overall productivity gains remained moderate because hierarchy, political interference, and cultural resistance continued to constrain system performance. The article concludes that procurement reform in Ghana must move beyond technology and prioritise training, user buy in, institutional alignment, and context sensitive change management. Sustainable efficiency depends on the joint optimisation of social and technical subsystems rather than on digital deployment alone.