Operational Credibility and Supplier Trust in Industrial Spare-Parts Purchasing: An Exploratory Study of Buyer Perceptions

This secondary analysis investigates how perceived inventory readiness, delivery reliability and technical service support are associated with industrial buyers’ trust in suppliers (N = 144). A four-factor confirmatory factor analysis of the 28 relevant indicators, heterotrait–monotrait (HTMT) checks, common-method sensitivity analyses, HC3-robust multiple regression, collinearity and influence diagnostics, and exploratory ANOVA with effect-size intervals were undertaken. The hypothesized CFA had imperfect fit (CFI = .853; TLI = .838; RMSEA = .078; SRMR = .072), with technical support showing weaker convergent validity (AVE = .350). HTMT estimates ranged from .402 to .766. Inventory readiness (standardized β = .474, p < .001) and delivery reliability (β = .345, p < .001) were associated with trust, whereas technical support was not (β = .027, p = .704). The model explained 54.7% of observed trust variation; predictor VIFs were 1.25–1.65. Seven observations exceeded Cook’s D > 4/N, but results excluding them preserved the significance of inventory and delivery. Exploratory group comparisons showed small observed η² values (.009–.030), with broad bootstrap uncertainty. Single-factor diagnostics do not eliminate common-method concerns. Findings remain exploratory, cross-sectional and subject to incomplete measurement validation.

Supplier trust; industrial purchasing; operational credibility; buyer–supplier relationships; supply-chain reliability

1. Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Anderson, J. C., & Narus, J. A. (1990). A model of distributor firm and manufacturer firm working partnerships. Journal of Marketing, 54(1), 42–58. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Anderson, J. C., Håkansson, H., & Johanson, J. (1994). Dyadic business relationships within a business network context. Journal of Marketing, 58(4), 1–15. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Bagozzi, R. P., & Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16, 74–94. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2), 238–246. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Bollen, K. A. (1989). Structural Equations with Latent Variables. Wiley. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Byrne, B. M. (2016). Structural Equation Modeling With AMOS: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming (3rd ed.). Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Cachon, G. P., & Fisher, M. (2000). Supply chain inventory management and the value of shared information. Management Science, 46(8), 1032–1048. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2016). Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operation (6th ed.). Pearson. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & Supply Chain Management (5th ed.). Pearson. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Cohen, M. A., Agrawal, N., & Agrawal, V. (2006). Winning in the aftermarket. Harvard Business Review, 84(5), 129–138. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319–340. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Dodds, W. B., Monroe, K. B., & Grewal, D. (1991). Effects of price, brand, and store information on buyers’ product evaluations. Journal of Marketing Research, 28(3), 307–319. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Doney, P. M., & Cannon, J. P. (1997). An examination of the nature of trust in buyer–seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 61(2), 35–51. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Dyer, J. H., & Singh, H. (1998). The relational view: Cooperative strategy and sources of interorganizational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(4), 660–679. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Flynn, B. B., Huo, B., & Zhao, X. (2010). The impact of supply chain integration on performance: A contingency and configuration approach. Journal of Operations Management, 28(1), 58–71. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Ganesan, S. (1994). Determinants of long-term orientation in buyer–seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 58(2), 1–19. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Gefen, D., Straub, D., & Boudreau, M.-C. (2000). Structural equation modeling and regression: Guidelines for research practice. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 4, Article 7. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate Data Analysis (8th ed.). Cengage. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43, 115–135. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. R. (2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(1), 53–60. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Jüttner, U., Peck, H., & Christopher, M. (2003). Supply chain risk management: Outlining an agenda for future research. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 6(4), 197–210. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (4th ed.). Guilford Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Koufteros, X., Vonderembse, M., & Jayaram, J. (2005). Internal and external integration for product development: The contingency effects of uncertainty, equivocality, and platform strategy. Decision Sciences, 36(1), 97–133. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Kraljic, P. (1983). Purchasing must become supply management. Harvard Business Review, 61(5), 109–117. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Lai, K.-H., Ngai, E. W. T., & Cheng, T. C. E. (2004). An empirical study of supply chain performance in transport logistics. International Journal of Production Economics, 87(3), 321–331. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. MacCallum, R. C., Browne, M. W., & Sugawara, H. M. (1996). Power analysis and determination of sample size for covariance structure modeling. Psychological Methods, 1(2), 130–149. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Mentzer, J. T., Flint, D. J., & Kent, J. L. (1999). Developing a logistics service quality scale. Journal of Business Logistics, 20(1), 9–32. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment–trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58(3), 20–38. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric Theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Oliver, R. L. (1980). A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions. Journal of Marketing Research, 17(4), 460–469. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A., & Berry, L. L. (1988). SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing, 64(1), 12–40. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Pavlou, P. A. (2003). Consumer acceptance of electronic commerce: Integrating trust and risk with the technology acceptance model. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 7(3), 101–134. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Rajesh, R., & Ravi, V. (2015). Supplier selection in resilient supply chains: A grey relational analysis approach. Journal of Cleaner Production, 86, 343–359. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations (5th ed.). Free Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Rousseau, D. M., Sitkin, S. B., Burt, R. S., & Camerer, C. (1998). Not so different after all: A cross-discipline view of trust. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 393–404. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Sako, M. (1992). Prices, Quality and Trust: Inter-firm Relations in Britain and Japan. Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. Sheth, J. N. (1973). A model of industrial buyer behavior. Journal of Marketing, 37(4), 50–56. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. Sirdeshmukh, D., Singh, J., & Sabol, B. (2002). Consumer trust, value, and loyalty in relational exchanges. Journal of Marketing, 66(1), 15–37. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. Srivastava, S. K. (2007). Green supply-chain management: A state-of-the-art literature review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 9(1), 53–80. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

46. Ulaga, W., & Eggert, A. (2006). Value-based differentiation in business relationships: Gaining and sustaining key supplier status. Journal of Business Research, 59(1), 119–128. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

47. Wagner, S. M., & Bode, C. (2008). An empirical examination of supply chain performance along several dimensions of risk. Journal of Business Logistics, 29(1), 307–325. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2158-1592.2008.tb00081.x [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

48. Williamson, O. E. (1985). The Economic Institutions of Capitalism: Firms, Markets, Relational Contracting. Free Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

49. Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means–end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 2–22. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

50. Zsidisin, G. A. (2003). A grounded definition of supply risk. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 9(5–6), 217–224. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• A Study on Utilisation on Vidiyal Payanam with Special Reference to Udumalpet
• Influence of Sales Promotional Strategies on Water Purifier Purchase: A Study
• Voluptatem exercitat
• Beatae voluptatum eanfjnjfnjnj
• Analysis of Marketing Strategies in Newbridge College During Covid-19 Pandemic