E-TRANSFORMATION AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: SUGGESTIONS TO TURKEY

Public procurement is significant for countries' welfare as it is critical in public expenditures and aconsiderable share of GDP. This study focuses on the problems experienced in implementing publicprocurement in Turkey and recommendations for solving these problems. Using qualitative data analysis as amethod, a stratified sampling method was used to identify the issues in Turkey within the framework of thedecisions of the Public Procurement Board. In addition, the criticisms on public procurement in the progressreports prepared by the European Commission on Turkey were examined. Examples of good practices in EUmember states, especially the EU Directive 2014/24/EU, were discussed in this context. In addition, somecountry practices that are considered to be important are analyzed through a literature review. Notably,adapting the innovations of e-procurement transformation to public procurement is essential for reducingcosts, increasing transparency, and increasing confidence in the decision-making process. In addition to theEU e-transformation studies in this field, other examples have been analyzed, namely the example of SouthKorea's e-transformation, since it has exemplary projects and a pioneering role. E-transformation in publicprocurement will also contribute to the criticism of Turkey's public procurement in the European UnionProgress Reports by minimizing human error in administrative tasks. The proposed solutions are aimed atcontributing to the elimination of the problems encountered in public procurement in Turkey.