The impact of procurement practices on competitive advantage: moderating role of supplier development among smes in Ghana

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Date
2023
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KNUST
Abstract
This research set out to establish how procurement practices will influence competitive advantage among SMEs in Ghana, with an emphasis on the role of supplier development. The specific objectives of the study were: to examine the relationship of procurement practices on competitive advantage, to assess the relationship of supplier development on competitive advantage, as well as evaluate the moderating effect of supplier development on the relationship between procurement practices and competitive advantage. The blessing of procurement practices and its implementation in Ghana’s SME sector has not been adequately realized and underestimated. Despite the recognition of procurement practices, most of the studies indicated above did not consider the competitive advantage consequences of procurement practices in an extremely uncertain environment such as the SMEs from the Ghanaian perspective. Moreover, understanding procurement practices in terms of its influence on competitive advantage among SMEs is inadequate, and there is a scarcity of information about how supplier development analysis affects the activities of procurement practitioners and other stakeholders working with SMEs. A quantitative method was employed and a sample size of 384 was chosen using a purposive sampling technique. The findings of the study show that procurement practices have a positive and significant relationship with competitive advantage. Also, the result indicates that supplier development positively influenced competitive advantage. Finally, findings indicate that supplier development positively moderates the link between procurement practices and competitive advantage. The study therefore concluded that managers should consider supplier development of providing guidance and technical assistance, revealing best practices, facilitating knowledge flow, and promoting collective problem-solving among suppliers in order to lower costs, enhance quality, and improve delivery.
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences. In partial fulfillment of the requirement of the award of a degree of Master of science procurement and supply chain management
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