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European Journal of Management and Marketing Studies ISSN: 2501 - 9988 ISSN-L: 2501 - 9988 Available on-line at: http://www.oapub.org/soc doi: 10.5281/zenodo.834073 Volume 2 │ Issue 2 │ 2017 INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE AND PROCUREMENT PERFORMANCE IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN WEST NILE SUB-REGION OF UGANDA Epiphany Odubuker Pichoi Muni University, Uganda Abstract: The study aimed to establish how institutional culture affects performance in public procurement in tertiary institutions in West Nile sub-region of Uganda. A crosssectional study design was used. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were adopted in the study. This study targeted a sample of 122 respondents. Simple random sampling technique was used to select amongst the user departments’ staff. Purposive sampling was used to select the Accounting Officers and Contract Committee members. Quantitative data analysis mainly consisted of descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and inferential statistics (Spearman Rank Order Correlation). Findings revealed that there was a moderate positive correlation ( rho = .474) between institutional culture and procurement performance. Thus, it was concluded that institutional culture significantly affected performance in public procurement in tertiary institutions in West Nile sub-region of Uganda. It is recommended that tertiary institutions in West Nile Sub-region of Uganda should focus on institutional culture to improve performance in public procurement. Keywords: institutional culture, public procurement and performance 1. Introduction This study investigated institutional culture and public procurement performance in tertiary institutions in West Nile sub-region of Uganda. This section presents the background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, objectives of Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 1 Epiphany Odubuker Picho INSTITUTIONAL CULTURE AND PROCUREMENT PERFORMANCE IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN WEST NILE SUB-REGION OF UGANDA the study, research hypothesis, and significance of the study, justification of the study and scope of the study. 2. Background to the Study Public procurement has a long history. Written on a red clay tablet, found in Syria, the earliest procurement order dates from between jars of fragrant smooth oil for and ”C. The order was for small weight in grain Coe, , p. . Other evidence of historical procurement includes the development of the silk trade between China and a Greek colony in 800 BC. In the United States, according to Page (1980) as cited in Scott (2008), government procurement at the municipal level predates that of state and federal governments. In the settlements and colonies, printing was one of a few services contracted out by government. However, there were no professional procurement officials, the practice of procurement being older than the discipline. Goods and services needed by government were supplied by commissioners or commissaries who received a commission on what they bought for the militia or other administrative units. It was not until the late 1800s that state legislatures began to create boards or bureaus responsible for purchasing, but central purchasing was hardly a practice at that time. In 1810, Oklahoma was the first state government to create a board to procure centrally for all state departments and agencies (Page, 1980). Many local governments soon followed Oklahoma’s example, according to “rthur Thomas as cited in Scott . Since then, centralized purchasing has gradually become common in state and local governments. However, the centralization trend has been challenged in recent years. Many practitioners and researchers have contended that purchasing authority, especially in government, must be decentralized in order to provide support that is more responsive to end users, eliminate bureaucratic obstacles to programme accomplishment, improve inter-departmental coordination, and empower service delivery managers to procure what they need without impediment by a centralized organization. For downloading the full article, please access the following link: http://oapub.org/soc/index.php/EJMMS/article/view/148 European Journal of Management and Marketing Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 2 │ 2017 2