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Purchasing: Can we bridge the gap between strategy and daily reality?

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  • Knoppen, Desirée
  • Sáenz, María J.

Abstract

A lot has been said about strategic purchasing: it contributes to the firm's strategic dialogue, acquires important resources from outside the firm, and plays a vital role in the achievement of the firm's long-term goals. Practice, however, demonstrates the difficulty of translating these intentions into daily reality. In this article, we identify the path between strategic intentions and sustained performance based on a combined quantitative and qualitative research methodology with an embedded level of analysis, including the firm and category level. The implementation of strategic purchasing leverages the liaison role of purchasing when connecting external suppliers with internal clients and ensures the development of purchasing's learning capabilities so that results do not erode over time. We identify key pitfalls to proceeding along the path: no time for reflection, a lack of scale, a lack of scope, and unaligned incentives. Consequently, we present practical guidelines to purchasing managers for avoiding these pitfalls and developing dynamic capabilities, which are vital in times of continuous and unpredictable change.

Suggested Citation

  • Knoppen, Desirée & Sáenz, María J., 2015. "Purchasing: Can we bridge the gap between strategy and daily reality?," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 123-133.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bushor:v:58:y:2015:i:1:p:123-133
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2014.09.006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Flynn, Barbara B. & Wu, Sarah Jinhui & Melnyk, Steven, 2010. "Operational capabilities: Hidden in plain view," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 247-256, May.
    2. James G. March & Lee S. Sproull & Michal Tamuz, 1991. "Learning from Samples of One or Fewer," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 1-13, February.
    3. Davies, Andrew & Brady, Tim, 2000. "Organisational capabilities and learning in complex product systems: towards repeatable solutions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(7-8), pages 931-953, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Vicky Ching Gu & Bin Zhou & Qing Cao & Jeffery Adams, 2021. "Exploring the relationship between supplier development, big data analytics capability, and firm performance," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 302(1), pages 151-172, July.
    2. Legenvre, Hervé & Gualandris, Jury, 2018. "Innovation sourcing excellence: Three purchasing capabilities for success," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 95-106.
    3. Miroslava Rakovska, 2016. "Procurement and Operations Management in the Logistics Systems of Manufacturing Companies in Bulgaria," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 1, pages 141-181.

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