Gender Differences in Weighting of Supplier Selection Criteria

Strategic partnerships are becoming more common today for U.S. firms. These new types of partnerships permit firms to compete more effectively in today's global market. Because of these new types of strategies, buyers and sellers are moving from the traditional arms'-length, adversarial relationships to those based on communication and cooperation. The movement toward cooperative relationships between business buyers and sellers has led to the reduction in the number of suppliers for some firms. With fewer suppliers being considered, the task of supplier selection becomes increasingly more important. This importance is magnified because the purchasing agent has fewer alternatives when a supplier cannot adequately perform its function. Consequently, the agent must depend more on the reliability and credibility of each individual supplier. However, selection criteria for suppliers extend beyond just these two supplier attributes. Therefore, the firms' supplier selection criteria are critical elements for marketers to understand. Studies over the years have addressed a variety of criteria that are important in supplier selection (e.g. Brown et al., 1993; Cameron and Shipley, 1985; Spekman, 1988). Much of the business research has focused on the behaviors and traits of purchasing managers (Brown et al., 1993). With more women entering fields that have been traditionally male (such as industrial purchasing), gender may also have an impact on the weighting of supplier selection criteria. An important but often overlooked aspect to study is the effect of gender on purchasing managers' behaviors. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there are any differences in the weighting of selection criteria between male and female purchasing personnel. If differences are found, gender could be a meaningful basis for business market segmentation. This article presents a review of the literature with an emphasis on supplier selection criteria and gender followed by the research methodology and results. A general discussion of the results leads to managerial implications and recommendations which are derived from the results. We conclude with a discussion of limitations of the study and future research. Background Supplier Selection Criteria When a decision to purchase a product is made, the members of the buying center establish a set of evaluation criteria that can be used to compare potential sources (Gregory, 1986). The purpose of supplier selection is to determine the optimal supplier who offers the best all-around package of product and service for the customer. Previous studies have identified several key factors important in supplier selection. Key criteria used by buyers include: quality, on-time delivery, price, and flexibility (Verma and Pullman, 1998). Other recent studies indicate the relative importance of supplier selection criteria has changed over the last few years. Wilson (1994) determined that quality has increased in importance, price is relatively less important today, delivery is somewhat less important, and service is somewhat more important today. She suggested that these changes are due to the changing relationships between buyers and sellers. Additionally, most studies have found that price plays an increasingly lesser role in supplier selection (Choi and Hartley, 1996; Gustin et al., 1997; Lambert et al., 1997). As suggested by Doney and Cannon (1997), trust in the supplier firm and trust in the salesperson have become increasingly important. Spekman (1988) developed a taxonomy of sources of information that divided the information into Personal and Impersonal. Five factors emerged from supplier/product attributes which included product, service, experience, price, and availability. Determining how a purchasing agent selects suppliers extends beyond the traditional selection criteria. Sourcing preference orientation of a firm (single vs. …