Impact of Buyer-Supplier Relationships on Organisational Performance: Experience from Grapes Processing Industries in Dodoma Region, Tanzania

Abstract

For so long, buyer-supplier relationships are embraced towards enhancing organisational performance in manufacturing industries. This study analysed the impact of the buyer-supplier relationships on organisational performance among grapes processing industries in Dodoma, Tanzania. The buyer-supplier relationships in terms of sharing of information, sharing of knowledge, supplier base reduction and joint problem solving were regressed on the organisational performance to determine the impact of buyer-supplier relationships on the organisational performance. A cross-sectional research design was adopted and data from 100 participants were collected through a questionnaire. A multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the relationship between information sharing, knowledge sharing, supplier base reduction and joint problem solving on organisational performance. Results indicated that information sharing (p=0.004), knowledge sharing (p=0.000) and joint problem solving (p=0.000) were positively and significantly related to organisational performance. However, supplier base reduction (p=0.392) was positive but not statistically significant related to the organisational performance. Hence, the study concludes that buyer-supplier relationships determined the organisational performance of surveyed wine manufacturers in the Dodoma region.It was recommended that wine manufacturing firms to develop strong mechanisms that may control buyer-supplier relationships. These may be done by strengthening contracts used to engage grapes suppliers within the region and frequent training to enable farmers to produce high-quality grapes for wine production.