Supplier management in developing countries

Sourcing activities in developing countries are faced with various challenges as, besides economic issues, social and environmental problems play a vital role. Based on data from 137 German firms, this paper investigates which measures of supplier management could improve supplier performance and buyer satisfaction. The proposed structural equation model was analyzed using Partial Least Squares (PLS). The conceptual model captures supplier selection and evaluation, supplier monitoring, supplier development, and supplier integration as independent variables and supplier performance and buyer satisfaction as dependent variables. The results indicate that mainly cooperative activities such as supplier development and supplier integration are effective while, surprisingly, supplier monitoring does not seem to have a positive influence on supplier performance.