The antecedents of supply strategy

Abstract

Purpose

Because the role of supply management has become more strategic for firms, the importance of the existence of supply strategy has also increased. Therefore, the aim of this study is to discuss the existence of supply strategy in a firm and to analyze the determinants that may affect the process of building and development of supply strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on previous literature, four hypotheses are established. To discover the effect of found antecedents on the existence of supply strategy, a logistic regression analysis is performed by using SPSS software.

Findings

Using empirical data collected from 100 Finnish firms, it is found that the capability of supply management is the main antecedent of the existence of supply strategy. The rate of internationality from overall purchases, the rate of total purchases from turnover and the centralization of supply management have a minor effect on supply strategy formation.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this study is that the group sizes of dependent variable are not equal, which can bias the results. Furthermore, small sample size in statistical analysis may have effects on the generalization of the results.

Originality/value

The study emphasizes the influence of capability as a main determinant of building effective supply strategy.

Citation

Lintukangas, K., Kähkönen, A. and Matti Virolainen, V. (2013), "The antecedents of supply strategy", European Business Review, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp. 396-410. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-08-2012-0046