The effect of trust with suppliers on hospital supply chain performance

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of trust with suppliers on hospital-supplier integration (SI) and hospital supply chain (SC) performance. Additionally, the mediating effect of SI on trust-hospital SC performance is investigated. Design/methodology/approach A research model and hypotheses were developed based on literature review. The study is based on survey data collected from 152 respondents in 55 private hospitals in Jordan. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings The paper finds that trust with suppliers has a positive impact on hospital-SI and hospital SC performance. Hospital-SI partially mediates the relationship between trust and hospital SC performance. Practical implications The findings of this research provide useful insights into the role of trust in boosting SC performance in the healthcare sector. High levels of SI not only improve hospital SC performance but also enhance the transformation of trust benefits into SC performance. Originality/value This research is one of the limited studies that investigated the effect of trust on hospital-SI and hospital SC performance in the healthcare sector. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate those relationships in the Middle East in general and in Jordan in particular.