Relationship quality and supplier performance in food supply chains

Abstract

The importance of procurement relationships in food supply chains is increasing in importance due to issues of food safety, food security, changing consumer preferences, ethical concerns and greater awareness of the environmental impact of food production. Despite the considerable research on buyer-seller relationships in the marketing and management literature, only a small proportion of this has focused on procurement relationships between producers and buyers in food supply chains. Hence, this paper specifically focuses on examining the impact of relationship quality on supplier performance in the context of food supply chains. The theoretical framework is derived from the tenets of the resource-based view and the relational view of firms. Using this framework, the definition, measurement and structural dimensions of relationship quality is established in the context of food producers and buyers. This construct is then tested in relationship to supplier performance. Utilizing data from a mail survey of 954 red meat producers in New Zealand, the model of supplier-buyer relationship quality and its effects on supplier performance is tested using structural equation modelling. The results demonstrate that relationship quality is an essential factor in procurement relationships with suppliers in food supply chains and shows that, as hypothesized, higher quality relationships lead to positive performance outcomes. The results support the theoretical framework indicating that relationship quality, conceptualized and defined in this context, is indeed a valuable relational resource due to its impact on supplier performance. Managerially, this resource can be manipulated to improve supplier performance, and hence potentially provide firms with competitive advantage that has high replication barriers.

A meta‐analysis on the trust in agrifood supply chains

“…This fact agrees, in a way, with the work of Lees et al. (2020), which stated that despite the considerable research on buyer–seller relationships in the marketing and management literature, only a small proportion of it has focused on procurement relationships between producers and buyers in food supply chains.…”

“…In general, many articles related to consumer trust were found, even when a search focused on the relationship of trust within supply chains was conducted. This fact agrees, in a way, with the work of Lees et al (2020), which stated that despite the considerable research on buyer-seller relationships in the marketing and management literature, only a small proportion of it has focused on procurement relationships between producers and buyers in food supply chains.…”

Building consumer trust in online food marketplaces: the role of WeChat marketing

“…Prior studies have identified that trust is a key predictor of performance (e.g. Lees et al, 2020;Pentina et al, 2013). It can increase consumer loyalty (Park et al, 2017), satisfaction (Kim and Peterson, 2017), word-of-mouth (Wang et al, 2016), or reduce perceived risk (Siegrist et al, 2008), thereby enhance performance.…”

A value chain perspective towards sustainable agricultural practices: the case of vegetables in Chile

“…In the transformation of food systems 6 in the last decades, farmer-buyer relationships had an essential role, where farmers and buyers started to coordinate food chains, increasing effective communication, reducing risk, uncertainty and transactions costs for mutual benefits (Reardon et al, 2009;Dlamini-Mazibuko et al, 2019;Lees et al, 2020). This transformation allowed a consistent supply of products that met high safety and quality standards (Mergenthaler et al, 2009;Bellemare and Lim, 2018).…”

“…Farmer-buyer relationships have been recognized as essential for the transformation of food systems 20 (Dlamini-Mazibuko et al, 2019;Lees et al, 2020). The transformation of food systems has been characterised by economic growth, globalisation, specialisation and the coordination between business partners (e.g., farmers, retailers, processors, input suppliers) and has allowed for a consistent supply of products that meet high safety and quality standards (Mergenthaler et al, 2009;Bellemare and Lim, 2018).…”