Influences on member commitment to group purchasing organizations

Abstract

Group purchasing organization (GPOs) have become an important part of some sectors of our economy, such as health care. To be successful at obtaining favorable purchase terms, a GPO must be able to foster and maintain the commitment of its members. Four positive influences on member commitment are hypothesized: (1) satisfaction with the GPO; (2) the perceived commitment of other GPO members; (3) the degree of information exchange between member and GPO; and (4) trust in the GPO. The suitability of alternatives to membership in the GPO was predicted to negatively influence member commitment. These hypotheses were tested with data from a mail survey returned by 249 (49.8%) retail pharmacies. A multiple regression analysis identified significant positive associations between member commitment and commitment of other members, information exchange, and trust. Also, the suitability of alternatives showed a significant negative relationship with commitment. Implications of the findings for managers and researcher are discussed.