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Measuring suppliers’ willingness to collaborate with ZGT in CSR and NPD projects based on Buyer-supplier knowledge factors

WEGEREEF, N. (2017) Measuring suppliers’ willingness to collaborate with ZGT in CSR and NPD projects based on Buyer-supplier knowledge factors.

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Abstract:In a well-designed and thoroughly studied product market companies try to maintain themselves by gaining a competitive advantage on other companies. Since the product market has become familiar for a lot of companies these companies try to find new ways to maintain or increase their competitive advantage. One way to do this is via the factor market. Companies are searching for suppliers and to start buyer-supplier relationships. By doing this companies can exchange, besides of products and/or services, know-how and knowledge about for instance processes. Ziekenhuis Groep Twente (ZGT) is one of the companies that wants to focus on the factor market. But, their focus is not on gaining a competitive advantage. ZGT’s focus is on New Product Development (NPD) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). NPD is important for ZGT since often the medical equipment bought by ZGT has a lot of functions, but misses some functions which would help ZGT improve their operational effectiveness and/or efficiency. By engaging in buyer-supplier relationships ZGT hopes to start a collaboration in either NPD projects or CSR projects. The focus of these NPD projects is to discuss the functions of medical equipment with its suppliers. By doing this ZGT hopes to increase their relationship with its suppliers and increase the usability of medical equipment for ZGT’s doctors. The second type of projects ZGT is interested in are focussed on CSR. CSR has a still increasing importance for companies and often is used as a benchmark. ZGT is aware of this importance and wants to invest in this type of buyer-supplier relationships to increase their CSR operations. This thesis tries to identify whether suppliers of ZGT are interested to collaborate with ZGT in these kind of projects. It tries to identify this based on several variables. One of these variables is Buyer-supplier knowledge, which is a new concept in literature. The concept of Buyer-supplier knowledge is built on the two indicators Trust and Dependency. This has been done since the expectation is that the more a supplier trusts or is dependent of ZGT the more prepared a supplier is to collaborate with ZGT. Besides this new concept the variables Customer attractiveness and Supplier satisfaction were included and tested. Competitiveness was added as a control variable. The research as outlined adds to existing empirical research because of the model in which it has been tested. Most variables have been tested individually in the current literature, but not combined into one concept and linked to the willingness of suppliers to collaborate.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/71839
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