Buyer–supplier collaboration's commitment. An antecedent for procurement performance of large manufacturing entities in Tanzania

Abstract

PurposeThis study was steered to establish how buyer–supplier collaboration's commitment attributes serve as an antecedent for procurement performance in large manufacturing entities in Tanzania.Design/methodology/approachA parallel, concurrent, mixed method was used in the study. Quantitatively, 52 firms were surveyed from Temeke Municipality, Tanzania, using questionnaire that specified 1 procurement manager and 1 store manager from those firms, totaling a sample size of 104 respondents. Qualitatively, expressive opinions to supplement the numeric data were gathered from supply chain managers using the saturation principle. Explanatory design analyzed the existing cause–effect relationship, and the null hypotheses were tested using binary logistic regression at p values < 0.05 and ExpB > 1.FindingsFidelity and enthusiasm to suggest improvements to suppliers and the duration of the collaboration antecede the procurement performance of the manufacturing firms in Tanzania, while devotion to invest resources and initiatives on joint problem solving have no significant impact.Research limitations/implicationsThe causality between buyer–supplier collaboration and procurement performance has been revealed. Since there might be third party logistics in collaborations, future research should center on their moderating effect.Practical implicationsA framework has been developed for liberating procurement performance in the context of large manufacturing firms in Tanzania.Originality/valueBased on Transaction Cost Economics and Resource Dependency Theories, the study revealed the root cause of procurement performance in the context of Tanzanian manufacturing firms, while also considering commitment to buyer–supplier collaboration as a prerequisit for the commendable target.