EFFECT OF REGULATORY REFORM ON SERVICE DELIVERY IN PROCURING ENTITIES IN TANZANIA: MODERATING ROLE OF DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION

Abstract

Public procurement represents an important institutional mechanism through which governments transform public resources into goods, works and services for citizens. In Tanzania, successive procurement reforms have sought to strengthen regulatory compliance, transparency, accountability, efficiency and value for money. However, the extent to which regulatory reforms translate into improved service delivery at the procuring-entity level remains an important empirical question. This study examined the effect of regulatory reform on service delivery in procuring entities in Tanzania and assessed whether departmental coordination moderates this relationship. The study was guided primarily by Institutional Theory and supported by Systems Theory. The study adopted a postpositivist philosophy, a deductive approach, and an explanatory cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from 270 respondents drawn from six strata of procuring entities in Dodoma Region using a structured questionnaire and stratified sampling. Data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling through SmartPLS version 4.1.1.2 software. The results indicate that regulatory reform has a positive and statistically significant effect on service delivery (β = 0.315, t = 6.299, p < 0.000). Moderating effect of departmental coordination on the relationship between regulatory reform and service delivery is negative but statistically significant (β = -0.111, t = 2.579 , p = 0.010). This suggests that although regulatory reform generally improves service delivery, its positive effect weakens as departmental coordination increases. In practical terms, higher levels of coordination may introduce constraints that gradually reduce the flexibility and responsiveness needed for reforms to translate into better service delivery outcomes.