Kees Gelderman

Aim:
Cooperative purchasing is considered a promising area for lowering the cost in the health care sector, although recent initiatives show mixed results. The purpose of this study is to find a thorough explanation for the performance of cooperative purchasing in healthcare by investigating the role of trust, commitment, organizational factors (i.e. group formality, and IT system effectiveness) and interpersonal skills (i.e. teamwork skills, and communication).
Design / Research methods:
A conceptual model for the performance of cooperative purchasing was developed. This model was empirically validated using a survey of 88 Dutch hospital purchasing professionals.
Conclusions / findings:
Analysis shows a significant impact of trust and commitment in cooperative purchasing groups on performance. Group formality and teamwork skills appear to be essential for achieving trust and cooperative purchasing performance. We also found a positive impact of IT system effectiveness on commitment, not on trust. Positive feelings about the group and positive expectation about the continuity of the group can be stimulated through effective IT systems. Since proper IT support is often neglected in many healthcare organizations, management efforts to improve IT systems could truly facilitate the tactical purchasing process of cooperative purchasing in hospitals.
Originality / value of the article:
Many cooperative purchasing initiatives suffer from conflicts over the allocation of savings, time, and costs. Despite the growing importance of cooperative purchasing, few empirical studies have explored the effects on hospital performance. Our study extends previous research by investigating the relationships between trust, commitment, and the performance of cooperative purchasing (1) and the impact of organizational factors and interpersonal skills on trust and commitment in purchasing groups within a healthcare context (2).

ABSTRACT Past research demonstrated that waiting time satisfaction has a positive effect on service evaluation. However, where many services consist of multiple stages, few studies consider an evaluation of waiting in stages. This research explores the relative importance of waits before, during, and following the actual service delivery in the restaurant industry. Our results indicate that the service-entry wait is the most important wait in the traditional restaurant and the gourmet restaurant. In contrast, in the fast-food restaurant the in-service wait is the predominant wait. The customers' regulatory focus and fit may explain these findings and suggest that the multi-stage approach is a fruitful avenue for future research into waiting for service.

An increasing number of educators are actively involved in master thesis supervision as part of their daily responsibilities. Master of Science degrees are becoming increasingly popular, with a master thesis required for the completion of the degree program. As a result, the supervisory staff involved in the supervision process at universities and institutes of higher learning is broadening and includes

Correspondence: Jos Schijns , School of Management, Open University of the Netherlands, PO Box 2960, Heerlen 6401 DL, The Netherlands. Tel: + 31 45 5762196; Fax: + 31 45 5762103; E-mail: jos.schijns@ou.nl ; Web: www.ou.nl ... Received (in revised form): 3rd July, 2008