Purchasing and Supply Management at the Purchase Category Level: strategy, structure and performance

Over the past two decades, purchasing has evolved from a clerical function focused on buying goods and services at a minimum price into a strategic function focused on value creation and achieving competitive advantage (Gadde and Håkansson, 1994; Carter and Narasimhan, 1996; Krause et al., 2001; Rozemeijer et al., 2003; Cousins et al., 2006; González-Benito, 2007; Schoenherr et al., 2012). This transformation is the result of an increased understanding by the top management of firms that purchasing can contribute to organizational success in many dimensions such as financial performance (Carr and Pearson, 2002; González-Benito, 2007), innovation performance (Handfield et al., 1999; Van Echtelt et al., 2008), and environmental performance (Bowen et al., 2001, Krause et al., 2009). More recent trends such as global sourcing, strategic alliances, and joint innovations with suppliers (Monczka et al., 2010; Schoenherr et al., 2012) have also contributed to the changing role of purchasing.