Buying committees in the Chinese retail industry

Abstract

PurposeRetailers act as assemblers of merchandise, selecting goods from among a wide range of available products in order to enhance customer value and loyalty. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the Chinese retail buying system, focusing on the buying committee, which is defined as a group of individuals from different positions that have the authority to make final judgments and decisions regarding such matters as adding or eliminating new products.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a survey administered to retail buyers.FindingsResults of independent t‐tests support the hypothesis that the influence of guanxi will be greater in the retail firms without a buying committee. State‐owned enterprises are more likely to use a buying committee than non‐state‐owned enterprises.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the sample represents buyers from many regions in China it is not a random sample; this limits the generalizing of results.Practical implicationsSuppliers wishing to sell to Chinese retailers need to know how selling to a retailer using a buying committee will affect their access to buyers.Originality/valueThis is the only paper describing research that focuses on the internal structure of a buying committee within a Chinese retail store. Data of this nature are extremely difficult to obtain.