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Purchasing as an organizational design problem: the case of non‐product‐related items and services

Luitzen de Boer (School of Business, Public Administration & Technology, Department of Operational Methods for Production and Logistics, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands)
Elsebeth Holmen (School of Business, Public Administration & Technology, Department of Construction Process Management, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands)
Corina Pop‐Sitar (Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway)

Management Decision

ISSN: 0025-1747

Article publication date: 1 November 2003

2577

Abstract

This paper discusses the problems and challenges that arise if a firm tries to concentrate purchasing activities in a separate organisational unit. For a variety of reasons, only a – small – part of all purchasing activities in an organisation is actually carried out by a purchasing department or a specialist. In particular, the purchasing of so‐called non‐product‐related (NPR) items and services often takes place without the involvement of a purchasing department. In addition, despite the sometimes huge savings that reportedly are possible by involving a purchasing department, many managers and boards pay only modest attention to such opportunities. In this paper, a conceptual model is proposed that serves, in particular, to explain the Purchasing department’s limited and problematic involvement in a firm’s tactical NPR‐purchasing activities. Based on these explanations and results from a small empirical study, we draw conclusions and formulate implications for managers and purchasing specialists. Research implications are formulated as well.

Keywords

Citation

de Boer, L., Holmen, E. and Pop‐Sitar, C. (2003), "Purchasing as an organizational design problem: the case of non‐product‐related items and services", Management Decision, Vol. 41 No. 9, pp. 911-922. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740310500903

Publisher

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MCB UP Ltd

Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited

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