Organizational buying behavior has been dramatically changing due to transformations on the nature of industrial competition. This changing environment implies great demands to companies to remain competitive. As firms
recognize the purchasing function as an important resource for obtaining high
quality levels, fast deliveries and cost savings, it reveals opportunities for the
purchasing management to become a business key contributor. This paper
presents a critical literature review concerning the new strategic role for
purchasing. We develop a construct of purchasing competence using three
dimensions identified from literature: purchasing interaction, purchasing
importance, and purchasing task execution
