The environment as a determining factor of purchasing and supply strategy: An empirical analysis of Brazilian firms

The environment may provide an essential variable to explain the strategic behaviour of companies, yet few works study its role in the formulation of strategies for the purchasing function. This article investigates the relationship among munificence, hostility, dynamism and complexity in the environment and the implementation of evaluation, development, involvement and logistics integration practices by suppliers. Several hypotheses, formulated on the basis of different approaches and theories developed in the fields of strategic and operations management, are tested with a sample of 96 industrial companies that conduct business activities in northeast Brazil. The results reveal a statistically significant relationship between the characteristics of the environment and the practices employed by the purchasing function; the hostility and the complexity of the environment are outstanding for their explanatory power. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.