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This article aims to investigate collaborative procurement as a sourcing strategy amongst competing small enterprises in an effort to reduce their material supply costs through increased efficiencies, bargaining power and economies of scale.

A case study approach is applied to a network of breweries that are regionally clustered. Interview data from producers, suppliers and industry experts is inductively interpreted to understand the viability, organisational impact and benefits/limitations of joint procurement activities.

The craft brewing industry follows a market place strategy of differentiation to achieve competitive advantage. This has supply chain implications that promote raw material diversity, which is in conflict with standardisation – a necessary factor for collective buying. Competition impacts information sharing and governance mechanism, while the structural factors of size asymmetry along and across the supply chain influence returns. These issues impact the potential economic benefits of collaborative procurement.

The research propositions have been developed in a specific industry but are generalisable to other companies with a differentiation strategy, especially in the consumer packaged goods sector.

Enabling conditions and constraints are captured in a framework and capability matrix, which can be used by practitioners to assess industry and product feasibility for collaborative procurement.

Previous studies of collaborative procurement have been in the public sector amongst large organisations. This work focusses on coopetition in the context of small businesses to identify the viability and cost-benefit of this strategy.

The purpose of this article is to develop a new model called strategy segmentation methodology (SSM) by combining the Kraljic portfolio matrix (KPM) and the supplier relationship model (SRM) so that the buyer company can effectively conduct its relations with its suppliers.

The importance weights of the criteria defining the dimensions of each model are calculated with the single-valued neutrosophic analytical hierarchy process (SVN-AHP) method. Subsequently, the derived importance weights are employed in the single-valued neutrosophic technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (SVN-TOPSIS) method to obtain the scores of the suppliers and their supplied items. In order to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed methodology, a case study in the machinery industry is performed with the related comparative analysis.

The implementation of SSM enables to formulate various strategies to manage suppliers taking into account the items they procure, their capabilities and performance and the supplier–buyer relationship strength. Based on the proposed strategies, it is concluded that the firm in the case study should terminate its relationship with six of its suppliers.

Although KPM has become the basis of purchasing strategies for various businesses, it neglects the characteristics of suppliers and the buyer–supplier relationship. In this study, KPM is integrated with the SRM approach presented by Olsen and Ellram (1997) to overcome these disadvantages of KPM. The novel integration of the two approaches enables the realization of a robust and reliable supplier classification model.

The purpose of this paper is to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets with an updated Purchasing Portfolio Matrix (PPM) specifically for international sourcing. This data-driven PPM matrix is designed to provide a dynamic and process perspective that can help SMEs survive the disruptions caused by emergency situations such as the global COVID-19 pandemic.

This research reports on qualitative interviews with experienced informants from 15 SMEs in the manufacturing industry. The authors follow process-based research using a combination of retrospective and real-time case study approaches to gradually unveil the dynamics in segmentation and sourcing strategies in the international sourcing context during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings reveal the dynamics of segmentation and international sourcing strategies during global disruptions and unpack the underlying logic behind the dynamics that is specific to SMEs in emerging economies.

Existing literature on PPM predominantly focuses on static and normal sourcing circumstances. This paper addresses this gap by adopting a dynamic approach to study how sourcing strategies of SMEs from emerging economies evolve in a highly volatile environment from an international sourcing perspective.

Supplier segmentation provides companies with suitable policies to control each segment, thereby saving time and resources. Sustainability has become a mandatory requirement in competitive business environments. This study aims to develop a clustering-based approach to sustainable supplier segmentation.

The characteristics of the suppliers and the aspects of the purchased items were considered simultaneously. The weights of the sub-criteria were determined using the best-worst method. Then, the K-means clustering algorithm was applied to all company suppliers based on four criteria. The proposed model is applied to a real case study to test the performance of the proposed approach.

The results prove that supplier segmentation is more efficient when using clustering algorithms, and the best criteria are selected for sustainable supplier segmentation and managing supplier relationships.

This study integrates sustainability considerations into the supplier segmentation problem using a hybrid approach. The proposed sustainable supplier segmentation is a practical tool that eliminates complexity and presents the possibility of convenient execution. The proposed method helps business owners to elevate their sustainable insights.

This paper aims to investigate how the sustainable orientation (SO) of companies and the strategic importance of components strategic importance may affect the decision to purchase remanufactured items.

This study employed a 2 × 2 full-factorial (combining between and within-subjects), scenario-based, role-playing experiment. Subjects in the study were US managers familiar with purchasing/supply chain topics. The hypotheses were tested using linear regression models.

The findings suggest that before becoming aware of any social benefits, a company's SO directly affects purchasing decisions, especially when the component is strategic. Perceptional aspects also play a significant role.

This study may help managers develop strategies for adopting the use of remanufactured components. New studies can benefit from the findings by focusing on how awareness of social benefits may increase the likelihood of using remanufactured components.

The findings suggest that before becoming aware of any social benefits, a company's SO directly affects purchasing decisions, especially when the component is strategic. Perceptional aspects also play a significant role.

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.

Effective inventory management is crucial for SMEs due to limited resources and higher risks like cash flow, storage space, and stockouts. Hence, the aim is to explore how technology and know-how can be integrated with inventory practices and impact operational performance.

The basis of the analysis was collecting papers from a wide range of databases, which included Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. In the first phase of the process, a search string with as many as nine related keywords was used to obtain 175 papers. It further filtered them based on their titles and abstracts to retain 95 papers that were included for thorough analysis.

The study introduced innovative methods of measuring inventory practices by exploring the impact of know-how. It is the first of its kind to identify and demonstrate how technical, technological, and behavioral know-how can influence inventory management practices and ultimately impact the performance of emerging SMEs. This study stands out for its comprehensive approach, which covers traditional and modern inventory management technologies in a single study.

The study provides valuable insights into the interplay between technical, technological, and behavioral know-how in inventory management practices and their effects on the performance of emerging SMEs in Industry 5.0 in the light of RBV theory.

The RBV theory and the Industry 5.0 paradigm are used in this study to explore how developing SMEs' inventory management practices influence their performance. This study investigates the effects of traditional and modern inventory management systems on business performance. Incorporating RBV theory with the Industry 5.0 framework investigates firm-specific resources and technological advances in the current industrial revolution. This unique technique advances the literature on inventory management and has industry implications.

Competency frameworks can support public procurement capacity development and performance. However, literature on connecting professionalisation with national procurement contexts is limited. This paper aims to explain and conceptualise recent Romanian experience with developing bespoke competency frameworks at national level for public procurement that reflect the features of the Romanian public procurement system. The approach used could guide in broad-brush, mutatis mutandis, other (national) public procurement systems with comparable features, mainly those seeking a shift from a rather administrative function of public procurement towards a strategic function.

This case study reflects on the methodology used for analysing the Romanian public procurement environment in EU context to develop bespoke professionalisation instruments, and on ways to integrate competency management approaches in Romanian public procurement culture. That methodological mix has been mainly qualitative and constructionist, within an applied research approach. It combined desk research with empirical research and included legal research in this context.

A principled, methodological and pragmatic approach tailored to the procurement environment in question is essential for developing competency frameworks capable to resonate to and address the specific practical needs of that procurement system.

Competency frameworks can uphold societal objectives through public procurement.

Using valuable insights into the development of the Romanian public procurement competency frameworks, the paper provides a conceptual framework for instilling competency management approaches to public procurement professional development where the latter is governed by a rather distinct, public administration, paradigm. This conceptual framework can guide other public procurement systems and stimulate further research.

The purpose of this study is to identify the antecedents of “power” and “dependence” attributes in the context of a construction project and to explore the impact of the antecedents on risk transfer and collaboration to develop a conceptual framework for decision-making.

A systematic review was performed using various databases to identify the antecedents and their measures. This review followed the established preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses protocols and 246 articles were identified. The articles were qualitatively analysed based on keyword co-occurrence approach using VOSviewer software.

The findings of this systematic review established latent constructs, that is, “clarity of procurement decisions”, “market structure” and “market competition” as antecedents of power and two antecedents of dependence, namely, “reputation” and “commercial importance”. And a framework was conceptualized to determine the contractual approach and the procurement design should be planned to take in account the scenarios and the course of action to enhance collaboration and control risk transfer.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to identify the “antecedents” of the attributes of “power” and dependence and framework was conceptualized to determine the contractual approach.

Competency frameworks can support public procurement capacity development and performance. However, literature on connecting professionalisation with national procurement contexts is limited. This paper aims to explain and conceptualise recent Romanian experience with developing bespoke competency frameworks at national level for public procurement that reflect the features of the Romanian public procurement system. The approach used could guide in broad-brush, mutatis mutandis, other (national) public procurement systems with comparable features, mainly those seeking a shift from a rather administrative function of public procurement towards a strategic function.

This case study reflects on the methodology used for analysing the Romanian public procurement environment in EU context to develop bespoke professionalisation instruments, and on ways to integrate competency management approaches in Romanian public procurement culture. That methodological mix has been mainly qualitative and constructionist, within an applied research approach. It combined desk research with empirical research and included legal research in this context.

A principled, methodological and pragmatic approach tailored to the procurement environment in question is essential for developing competency frameworks capable to resonate to and address the specific practical needs of that procurement system.

Competency frameworks can uphold societal objectives through public procurement.

Using valuable insights into the development of the Romanian public procurement competency frameworks, the paper provides a conceptual framework for instilling competency management approaches to public procurement professional development where the latter is governed by a rather distinct, public administration, paradigm. This conceptual framework can guide other public procurement systems and stimulate further research.