Motivating the Purchasing Professional

Abstract

Recent interest in purchasing as a key strategic function has led to numerous articles that describe programs or technologies that can be implemented to help a firm achieve a competitive advantage through the sourcing function. What is lacking is work that focuses on the people who will implement these programs. This article deals with motivating the purchasing professional to acquire and use the skills necessary to make the function a strategic asset to the firm. A model for motivating skill acquisition and use through measurement systems, compensation systems, and the interaction of both is developed and then empirically tested.