Original Research
An empirical study of buyer-supplier relationships in the Taiwanese machine tool industry
South African Journal of Business Management | Vol 43, No 1 | a177 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v43i1.177
| © 2018 C. C. Yeh, C. F. Chen
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 13 April 2018 | Published: 31 March 2012
Submitted: 13 April 2018 | Published: 31 March 2012
About the author(s)
C. C. Yeh, Department of Business Management, National Taipei College of Business, TaiwanC. F. Chen, Department of Business Management, National Taipei College of Business, South Africa
Full Text:
PDF (295KB)Abstract
Machine tools are an essential component of advanced manufacturing technology, and the machine tool industry in Taiwan dominates the world market. However, Taiwanese machine tool plants are unique, in that approximately 62% of the total operating cost for a plant arises from its suppliers. This paper examines buyer-supplier relationships in the Taiwanese machine tool industry. In doing so, a theoretically relevant set of buyer-supplier relationship variables is identified from the literature. Factor analysis shows that buyer-supplier relationships are a two dimensional construct containing the core dimensions of a purchasing cooperative relationship and an R&D cooperative relationship. Connections between buyer-supplier relationships and manufacturing performance (quality, cost, delivery and flexibility) are then examined. This study reveals that buyer-supplier relationships are related to overall manufacturing performance, but can vary depending on the dimensions of the relationships. Finally, some discussions are presented and managerial implications are made for the industry.
Keywords
No related keywords in the metadata.
Metrics
Total abstract views: 1765Total article views: 715