Ethical Purchasing Dissonance: Antecedents and Coping Behaviors

The pressure of oversight and scrutiny in the business-to-business purchasing process has the potential to cause psychological distress in purchasing professionals, giving rise to apprehensions about being ethically inappropriate. Utilizing depth interviews with public sector purchasing professionals in a phenomenological approach, the authors develop the notion of ethical purchasing dissonance to explain the psychological distress. An inductively derived conceptual framework is presented for ethical purchasing dissonance that explores its potential antecedents and consequences; illustrative propositions are presented, and managerial implications are discussed

Ethical Purchasing Dissonance: Antecedents and Coping Behaviors

The pressure of oversight and scrutiny in the business-to-business purchasing process has the potential to cause psychological distress in purchasing professionals, giving rise to apprehensions about being ethically inappropriate. Utilizing depth interviews with public sector purchasing professionals in a phenomenological approach, the authors develop the notion of ethical purchasing dissonance to explain the psychological distress. An inductively derived conceptual framework is presented for ethical purchasing dissonance that explores its potential antecedents and consequences; illustrative propositions are presented, and managerial implications are discussed

Drivers of group purchasing organization (GPO) effectiveness and efficiency: The role of organizational collaboration types

Collaborative purchasing, the sharing of aspects of the purchasing function among two or more buyers, has been utilized for many years and is applied in a variety of industries including healthcare. Third party collaborative purchasing involves a third party organization that helps purchasing organizations by aggregating volume, negotiating lower prices, and providing other value added services such as benchmarking and market knowledge. Extant literature has examined the broad form of collaborative purchasing, but has neglected the individual differences in how purchasing organizations choose to work with the third party. In order to help fill this gap in the literature and better understand the relationship between purchasing organizations and third party collaborators, the author conceptualizes collaboration type as being multi-dimensional, comprising process, maximization, and relational aspects. These dimensions form the basis for two primary types of collaboration: Transactional collaboration (transactional, value-maximization focus) and Strategic collaboration (partnerships, group-maximization focus). A conceptual model is hypothesized that examines the antecedents and consequences of collaboration type. The hypotheses are tested with a sample of 123 hospitals across the United States. The results show that (1) there are differences in how purchasing emphasis and dependence management factors impact collaboration type, (2) transactional collaboration positively impacts purchasing effectiveness while strategic collaboration positively impacts both purchasing effectiveness and efficiency, (3) buying center factors play a unique role in moderating the impact of collaboration type on purchasing effectiveness and purchasing efficiency, and (4) post hoc analysis indicates that GPO satisfaction has an important role in the link between collaboration type and purchasing effectiveness and efficiency. The results provide insight for purchasing managers, third party collaborators, and sales organizations

Drivers of group purchasing organization (GPO) effectiveness and efficiency: The role of organizational collaboration types

Collaborative purchasing, the sharing of aspects of the purchasing function among two or more buyers, has been utilized for many years and is applied in a variety of industries including healthcare. Third party collaborative purchasing involves a third party organization that helps purchasing organizations by aggregating volume, negotiating lower prices, and providing other value added services such as benchmarking and market knowledge. Extant literature has examined the broad form of collaborative purchasing, but has neglected the individual differences in how purchasing organizations choose to work with the third party. In order to help fill this gap in the literature and better understand the relationship between purchasing organizations and third party collaborators, the author conceptualizes collaboration type as being multi-dimensional, comprising process, maximization, and relational aspects. These dimensions form the basis for two primary types of collaboration: Transactional collaboration (transactional, value-maximization focus) and Strategic collaboration (partnerships, group-maximization focus). A conceptual model is hypothesized that examines the antecedents and consequences of collaboration type. The hypotheses are tested with a sample of 123 hospitals across the United States. The results show that (1) there are differences in how purchasing emphasis and dependence management factors impact collaboration type, (2) transactional collaboration positively impacts purchasing effectiveness while strategic collaboration positively impacts both purchasing effectiveness and efficiency, (3) buying center factors play a unique role in moderating the impact of collaboration type on purchasing effectiveness and purchasing efficiency, and (4) post hoc analysis indicates that GPO satisfaction has an important role in the link between collaboration type and purchasing effectiveness and efficiency. The results provide insight for purchasing managers, third party collaborators, and sales organizations

The effect of managerial cost prioritization on sales force turnover

Driven by organizational focus on bottom-line profitability, business-to-business (B2B) sales managers face pressure to justify and control sales expenses. As cost information becomes more accessible, higher value may be placed on this information relative to revenue information to help alleviate this pressure. Therefore, this study conceptualizes cost prioritization and argues that while bottom-line management gains may ensue, cost prioritization may also have unintended consequences for sales force engagement. Therefore, this research examines the effect of managerial cost prioritization on sales force turnover. Output control, behavior control, and micromanagement are identified as key factors impacting the relationship between cost prioritization and sales force turnover. Empirical testing is based on a survey of B2B sales managers from various industries across the United States. Results indicate cost prioritization increases sales force turnover. Output control attenuates, while micromanagement exacerbates, this relationship. In addition, functional and dysfunctional turnover are differentially impacted by cost prioritization

Ethical Purchasing Dissonance: Antecedents and Coping Behaviors

The pressure of oversight and scrutiny in the business-to-business purchasing process has the potential to cause psychological distress in purchasing professionals, giving rise to apprehensions about being ethically inappropriate. Utilizing depth interviews with public sector purchasing professionals in a phenomenological approach, the authors develop the notion of ethical purchasing dissonance to explain the psychological distress. An inductively derived conceptual framework is presented for ethical purchasing dissonance that explores its potential antecedents and consequences; illustrative propositions are presented, and managerial implications are discussed