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This paper aims to analyze the key problems related to the international purchasing operations and their interrelationship with the post‐purchase industrial behavior: repeated purchase with modification, repeated purchase without modification and no rebuy. The objective is to develop a conceptual model in the area of international post‐purchase industrial behavior.

Based upon prior research in business marketing, international marketing, international business and intercultural communication, and complemented by an exploratory qualitative approach, the paper proposes a conceptualization of the post‐purchase industrial behavior and of the relationships between cost, logistics, governmental and cultural factors affecting international post‐purchase industrial behavior.

This paper elaborates a conceptual model and research propositions that delineate the relationship between key problems of international purchasing and the post‐purchase behavior of industrial firms. The importance of the cultural factor‐problem is outlined.

The value of the paper is to provide an emerging theory for the study of international post‐purchase industrial behavior. The concept of post‐purchasing behavior is explained in the context of international purchasing. Also, the paper provides insights of the effect of culture in international delivery times.

International purchasing partnerships are becoming an increasingly common and attractive way to procure goods and services in the global marketplace. Yet these complex relationships may require special effort and attention in order to be successful. A review of the relevant literature and case studies of firms actively involved in international purchasing partnerships is used to highlight and discuss the key factors which contribute to international purchasing partnership success and failure. The implications of these factors for purchasing managers are also discussed.

Analysis of the organisational structures utilised to conduct international purchasing activities was undertaken at 24 multinational corporations. The majority of the corporations studied had decentralised purchasing organisations and all had corporate purchasing staffs. Four basic approaches were found: (1) totally decentralised; (2) co‐ordinated; (3) totally centralised; and (4) separate international purchasing group. Within this overall framework there were several forms of staff assistance to assist operating units effectively accomplish their international purchasing goals. This assistance included foreign buying offices, trading companies and international staff specialists. There was also a common philosophy which indicated the necessity of worldwide sourcing.

Discusses analysis of the organizational structures utilized to conduct international purchasing activities which was undertaken at 24 multinational corporations. The majority of the corporations studied had decentral‐ ized purchasing organizations and all had corporate purchasing staffs. Four basic approaches were found: (1) totally decentralized; (2) co‐ordinated; (3) totally centralized; and (4) separate international purchasing group. Within this overall framework there were several forms of staff assistance for helping operating units effectively to accomplish their international purchasing goals. This assistance included foreign buying offices, trading companies, and international staff specialists. There was also a common philosophy which indicated the necessity of worldwide sourcing.

The purpose of this paper is to review international industrial purchasing and marketing literature with a focus on portfolio models, to develop portfolio models for buyers' and sellers' international strategies, and to combine the models so that both the buyer and seller perspectives are dealt with simultaneously.

Literature on international industrial purchasing and marketing is discussed. Dimensions that are important for the buyers' and sellers' strategies are identified. Portfolio models for buyers and sellers are developed and the two perspectives are matched together.

The paper contributes a specification of features that are important for industrial buyers' and sellers' international purchasing and marketing strategies. These dimensions are used to develop a model of supplier relationship management and a marketing management model for supplier strategies. The consequences for the firm's international activities are discussed. A model combining industrial buyers' and sellers' international supply and marketing management strategies is developed.

This paper provides a deeper understanding of international exchange processes by combining literature on international industrial purchasing and international marketing. Situations are identified where different areas of theory are applicable. The paper also contributes to the discussion on what should be the conceptual domain of international business. Here, it is argued that international exchange is the product of joint decisions made by two or more actors based in different countries. Earlier academic literature reveals a striking imbalance: while one side of the coin – the exporter side – has been extensively studied, the importer side has largely been neglected. In this paper, it is tried to present a balanced view of both sides.

This paper introduces portfolio management models that can be used for both industrial purchasing and marketing management. The paper stresses the importance of finding a fit between the marketing and purchasing strategies within a relationship. If both parties have positioned the relationship in a similar way, there are much greater possibilities for the relationship to create value for both parties.

The paper combines international industrial purchasing and international marketing perspectives as few studies have done before.

Weak supplier bases and weak infrastructures pose significant obstacles to the use of just‐in‐time (JIT) purchasing in developing countries. Explores the use and effectiveness of JIT purchasing practices in one such developing country, Mexico, in an attempt to lay a foundation for understanding the use of JIT purchasing in developing countries in general. Analyses two distinct activities characteristic of JIT purchasing: JIT deliveries from suppliers and supplier involvement in improvement activities. Uses a large sample mail survey and comparative case studies. Indicates that both JIT deliveries and supplier involvement in improvement activities can enhance performance in Mexican operations under certain circumstances. Finds the effectiveness of pursuing JIT deliveries depends on plant and company size. Achieving high levels of supplier involvement appears to depend in part on the extent that Mexican managers have developed a network within the parent company. Provides recommendations for managers and suggestions for areas requiring further research.

Lays a foundation for a comprehensive awareness and understanding of research in the area of international supply chain management. More specifically, reviews publications constituting a decade of the most recent research in the three areas of international purchasing, inventory management and logistics in 22 leading academic and practitioner journals for the period 1986 through 1995. Through classification and review of this literature, enables a better understanding of this vast field while simultaneously making available a valuable source of information for academicians and practitioners to draw from. Discusses key research findings, provides an overall assessment of the research in these areas and shapes an agenda for future research by identifying important gaps in the literature.

Increasing competitive pressure over the past 20 years has forced many companies to re‐evaluate their value‐added systems. This re‐evaluation has greatly amplified the managerial attention focused on purchasing. Indeed, many firms have begun to emphasize purchasing in their attempts to improve their competitive positions. Two advanced sourcing practices have been particularly important: global and JIT sourcing. This paper: 1) reviews the literature pertaining to these two sourcing practices, 2) considers potential competitive impact, 3) explores issues of compatibility, and 4) presents future research directions.

The authors empirically examine purchasing strategy typologies based on strategic intent (i.e. competitive priorities) and practices used to achieve these priorities. The authors further investigate the implementation conditions of such strategies based on perceived uncertainty and strategic purchasing.

The authors utilize case study data from 11 international service and manufacturing firms with global supply chains. Each company was profiled based on the level of perceived environmental uncertainty, the characteristics of strategic purchasing, the use of relevant purchasing practices and its ability to create value through purchasing.

The study findings show that four purchasing strategy types exist: Purchasing Rationalization, Supply Base Optimization, Purchasing as a Service and World-Class Supply Base Management. Lower levels of perceived environmental uncertainty favor the adoption of rationalization strategies (i.e. Purchasing Rationalization and Supply Base Optimization), while increased uncertainty leads companies to switch to relationship-focused strategies (i.e. Purchasing as a Service and World-Class Supply Base Management). Further, that specific components of strategic purchasing (i.e. strategic planning, maturity, status and report level) enable the successful implementation of different strategy types.

This research contributes to the existing literature by outlining the different types of purchasing strategies and the external and internal factors that need to be considered to achieve strategic alignment and value creation in purchasing, and by classifying purchasing strategy types at the functional level based on empirical evidence.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences in preferred supplier choice criteria between food purchasing agents who focus on supplier security and those that do not. Specifically, this research determines the relationship between purchasing agents’ supplier security preferences and their preferences for product quality, delivery reliability, price, and supplier location. The influence of international sourcing on demand for increased supplier security is also explored.

Choice-based conjoint analysis with hierarchical Bayes (HB) estimation and t-tests are used to assess and compare the utility food purchasing managers derive from different supplier attributes.

Purchasing managers that place a higher priority on security when choosing suppliers were willing to pay suppliers a higher price and receive lower levels of delivery reliability in return for higher security but placed less emphasis on suppliers’ product quality. Firms that source internationally do not have a significantly greater preference for advanced supplier security. However, purchasing managers that value supplier security were more likely to source internationally, potentially indicating that security allows for global sourcing by mitigating the increased vulnerability inherent to sourcing abroad.

This research was limited by its focus on the food industry and a relatively small sample size.

This work illustrated that food purchasing managers can be segmented by the emphasis they place on security. Food industry managers will find results useful in formulating their future service offerings with respect to security and other supplier choice criteria.

This is one of few works investigating security as a supplier choice criterion and utilizing HB estimation of choice-based conjoint data.