Fit in buyer-supplier relationships: Examining compatibility and complementarity of culture, operations and resources in satisfactory buyer-supplier relationships

Purchasing function can aim to satisfy suppliers to obtain a preferred customer status with important suppliers to receive a preferential treatment. This research examines whether cultural compatibility, operational compatibility and resource complementarity of buyer and supplier do influence the supplier’s perception of the buyer and lead to a preferred customer status. A differentiation between direct and indirect procurement is made. The results show that cultural compatibility is an important influencing factor for achieving supplier satisfaction. Operational compatibility has shown an effect on preferred customer status in the context of indirect procurement, whereas resource complementarity has an effect for direct procurement.