The impact of information management and relationship quality on healthcare industrial vending machine implementation and use: A preliminary empirical analysis

Healthcare organizations face considerable pressure and challenges in efficiently and effectively managing their supply chain operations. Although slow to change, the healthcare industry has begun to consider alternative... [ view full abstract ]

Healthcare organizations face considerable pressure and challenges in efficiently and effectively managing their supply chain operations. Although slow to change, the healthcare industry has begun to consider alternative inventory management systems in order to improve inventory control and patient care. Industrial vending machines (IVM) represent a specific form of vendor-managed inventory (VMI) that can help healthcare organizations address different inventory management issues. The purpose of this research is to develop and test a model that highlights the critical role of information management in the link between relationship quality and different outcomes of IVM implementation and use in the healthcare sector. A theoretical model is proposed to explore the relationship between information management, relationship quality and different healthcare IVM benefits. Structural equation modeling and survey data from over 100 healthcare supply chain managers are used to test the research hypotheses. Empirically tested results grounded in TCE and contingency theory confirm the relationships between different healthcare IVM enablers and outcomes. More specifically, findings suggest that the successful implementation and use of IVM is tied to both information management as well as the quality of the relationship between vendors and healthcare organizations. Results also indicate that the information that is shared between healthcare supply chain partners mediates the relationship between relationship quality and various healthcare cost, service and inventory benefits. The findings presented in this study provide healthcare supply chain managers with current findings, which should aid them in evaluating IVM solutions.