پیش بینی عملکردخرید: نقش برنامه های توسعه تامین کننده

To examine the role of supplier development and its related elements in the context of purchasing performance from a buying firm’s perspective, a survey was conducted of companies in the electronics industry in Hong Kong. Using factor analysis, seven factors were identified relevant to supplier development activities. These elements include: long-term strategic goals, effective communications, partnership strategy, top management support, supplier evaluation, direct supplier development and perception of supplier’s strategic objective. Spearman correlation analysis indicated that all the supplier development elements are positively and significantly correlated to the perceived purchasing performance. From the results of regression analysis, two factors, direct supplier development and supplier’s strategic objectives proved to be significant predictors of purchasing performance.

Facing increasingly competitive challenges, many organizations view supplier performance as an important contributor to their competitive advantage. They work closely with suppliers and expect to improve performance and capabilities by engaging supplier development programs. Supplier development is defined as any effort of the buying firm with a supplier to increase the performance and capabilities of the supplier [1]. It has been reported that such programs have been extensively implemented in western countries [1], [2] and [3]. However, developing the supplier has also proved quite challenging [3] and [4]. A conceptual model for guiding the implementation of supplier development program was proposed by Hahn et al. [5]. However, it was not empirically tested. Some perceived critical elements of supplier development were explored by Krause and Ellram [6] and some “antecedents” of involvement in supplier development program were also identified by Krause [7]. But these factors were not linked with purchasing performance. In this body of literature, few empirical research studies have been conducted to examine the factors which are critical to the success of the approach. This paper explores the strength of the relationship between certain supplier development activities and purchasing performance. The central questions are: (1) What are reliable and valid measures of the critical elements of supplier development? (2) Whether supplier development and its related elements are strongly associated with purchasing performance improvement? To answer the above questions, several critical factors of supplier development were proposed on the basis of an extensive literature review. Research instruments were developed and statistical evidence was collected from 142 companies in the electronics industry in Hong Kong. This paper is organized as follows: first, the relevant literature is reviewed and some key factors of supplier development are identified. Next, the data and samples used for analysis are introduced. Overviews of factor analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis are provided. The results based on the analysis are presented and discussed. Finally, the paper concludes with a summary of the research findings.

This study examined the role of supplier development in the context of purchasing performance in the electronics industry in Hong Kong. The results indicate that there is a significantly positive relationship between supplier development strength and purchasing performance and that supplier development elements do have a predicting impact on purchasing performance. This finding is consistent with previous research in supplier development program [3], [5] and [8] and provides some insights from both a practical and research perspective. The strong relationship between supplier development and purchasing performance could be related to the nature of the electronics industry. Product development times are measured in months and many organizations rely on suppliers to provide design advice and support from the very early stages of a product development project. To prosper in this industry, companies must establish strong collaborative relationships with suppliers. The results of regression analysis indicated that direct supplier development is proved to contribute to prediction of purchasing performance significantly. This is consistent with the study conducted by Dyer [15] who indicated that relation-specific asset investments positively related to firm performance. Importantly, supplier strategic objective is found to be a more important predictor to purchasing performance. This finding indicates that when choosing strategic suppliers to develop, a buyer should consider if the suppliers have compatible strategic objectives with the buyer, e.g. being willing to continuously improve performance, willing to contribute their expertise and competence and hoping to grow with the buyer by dealing with them. This is consistent with the argument proposed by Stuart [16], which illustrated that only when a philosophical and strategic match exists between buyer and supplier management, will the chance of success in alliance be enhanced. Surprisingly, partnership strategy was found not to be a significant predictor to performance improvement in this research although previous study has suggested that most of the buyers engaged in supplier development with collaborative partners [6]. This inconsistent finding could be explained by the nature of Hong Kong industry. Most of Hong Kong manufacturing companies are small and medium sized original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), who produce according to the requirements of the orders received from overseas companies. Moreover, for the last two decades, with the movement of Hong Kong’s manufacturing facilities to southern China and the support services remaining in Hong Kong, the monitoring and evaluation of these extended enterprises becomes complex and time consuming, making the development of partnership strategies more difficult to achieve. Overall, the results of statistical analyses of current research suggest two important avenues for electronics manufacturers in Hong Kong to ensure the improvement of buyer–supplier performance. Firstly, investing in direct involvement activities in developing suppliers is an effective way. Secondly, buyer’s perception of the supplier’s strategic objectives also significantly affects the performance improvement. Developing suppliers requires greater levels of resource commitment from buyers. However, a buyer’s investment in a supplier should be fully based on the evidence of supplier’s commitment to the relationship. Consistent and matched strategic objectives from suppliers indicate that the supplier is committed to the exchange relationship. Although conducted in the context of electronic industry in Hong Kong, the results of this study provides an improved understanding of the role of supplier development in predicting buyer–supplier performance improvement. Given both costs and risks associated with developing suppliers, for those companies who wish to be involved in increasing supplier’s performance and capabilities, this study has identified several factors that are of strategic importance to the success of their efforts.