Antecedents of Supplier Relation Quality in the Ghanaian Construction Supply Chain

Effective and efficient management of suppliers within a supply chain is an essential requirement for improving organisational performance within construction companies. However, factors inherent within the supply chain of supplier-buyer exchanges such as culture, politics, dependence and trust may influence supplier relationship quality (SRQ). This research therefore seeks to identify the influence that these factors have upon SRQ in the Ghanaian construction industry and develop a conceptual framework that explains the interconnectivity between them. A literature review is used to develop a conceptual framework of the antecedents influencing supplier relationship quality. Primary ‘perception' data obtained from 152 building material suppliers is used to test the proposed model using Partial Least Squares (PLS). Findings reveal that culture, politics, dependence and trust have a significant influence on relationship quality in supply chain collaborations amongst purchasers and suppliers of building materials. While politics has a strong influence on dependence, it also generates a negative influence on SRQ and trust. The research confirms the positive effect of trust and dependence in SRQ management and extends understanding of the influence of culture and politics. Practical implications suggest that managers of building material suppliers should focus upon building trust and dependence and be discouraged from over-reliance upon politics and political affiliations as a basis for long-term relationship building