Inclusive Sourcing: Exploring Missing Links in Procurement and Contracting That Adversely Affect the Upward Mobility of Minority Businesses

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hill, James A.; Chu, Soh Hyun; Blount, Ian
• 署名单位: University System of Ohio; Ohio State University
• 刊物名称: PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1059-1478
• DOI: 10.1177/10591478241263064
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 502-512
• 关键词: Supplier diversity; disparity; access; supplier development; upward mobility

摘要

While large purchasing organizations (LPOs) continue to push their supplier diversity and development efforts, disparities remain between minority- and majority-owned businesses. We examine existing disparities, investigate the factors contributing to these gaps, and discuss how LPOs may improve their engagement initiatives with minority-owned businesses, leading to mutual economic success. Through interviews with representatives of minority- and majority-owned businesses, we uncover the difficulties that minority-owned businesses face in accessing LPOs. They receive fewer development opportunities and are less upwardly mobile than their majority-owned counterparts. Trust emerged as a critical factor required for minority-owned businesses to gain access to LPOs. We explore additional factors that may influence LPO procurement decisions beyond racial biases, such as the dense networks of minority-owned businesses, the risks associated with engaging minority-owned businesses, and the complexity of LPO organizational structures. This essay contributes to the operations and supply chain literature on diversity, equity, and inclusion by providing researchers and LPOs with a pragmatic view of their buyer-supplier relationships and strategies to improve contracting practices with minority-owned businesses.