Modelling marketing resources, procurement process coordination and firm performance in the Malaysian building construction industry

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish a link between marketing resources, procurement process coordination (PPC) and firm performance. To allow for greater understanding in the field of supply chain management, the present study looked into the coordination between the construction firms and their main building materials suppliers. Design/methodology/approach – This study employed the quantitative method where stratified random sampling and self-administrated questionnaires were sent to respondents in the construction industry. The research framework was tested using structural equation modelling technique. Findings – The empirical result revealed that marketing resources have positive and significant effects on PPC dimensions. It was also found that PPC (mainly joint operation planning and supplier relationship development dimensions) has significant positive relationship towards firm performance. Research limitations/implications – This study focused solely on the firms in the construction industry and data collection was on a single respondent basis. Practical implications – The findings of this study underlines some implication and suggests that construction industry players adopt and emphasise such orientations in order to enhance their performance – operational and customer performance in particular. Originality/value – This study employed a newly developed framework based on the existing theoretical arguments to empirically examine the link between marketing resources, PPC and firm performance and offers fresh insights on the effects of PPC in linking marketing resources and firm performance. Besides that, since there are very limited studies that have taken the initiative to specifically list down the activities involved in the PPC, mainly in the context of the construction industry, this study offers a significant contribution.