Digital transformation and its contribution to the efficiency of the Public Procurement Department of a state owned company in San Lorenzo, Esmeraldas

Abstract

Introduction: Digital transformation strengthens the productivity, traceability, and transparency of processes within state institutions. The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of digital transformation to the efficiency of the Public Procurement department of a state-owned company in the San Lorenzo canton, Esmeraldas province. Methodology: A mixed-methods approach with a descriptive scope and a non-experimental, cross-sectional design was applied: all 30 employees of the area were surveyed (census) using a 10-item frequency-scale questionnaire (α = 0.95), and two executives of the institution with experience in public procurement were interviewed. Results: The results showed a predominance of the intermediate response category: around two-thirds of respondents indicated that specialized software (50 %), data analytics tools (63.3 %), and digital systems for assessing departmental efficiency (66.7 %) are used only occasionally, revealing an incipient level of technological development that the executives associated with slow procedures and greater risks to transparency. On this basis, a digital transformation proposal was designed specialized platforms and software, electronic records supported by blockchain and cloud computing, and a staff training plan under transformational leadership and validated by four experts using Aiken's V (coefficients between 0.78 and 0.91). Conclusions: It is concluded that, according to the perception of employees and executives, digital transformation would contribute to improving the efficiency of the entity's public procurement processes; this conclusion is descriptive, not causal, in scope.