SUPPLIER COLLABORATION AND CORPORATE SUCCESS OF BREAD AND CONFECTIONERY FIRMS IN PORT HARCOURT

Abstract

This study empirically investigated the relationship between Supplier Collaboration and Corporate Success of Bread and Confectionery Firms in Port Harcourt. Specifically, the objectives of the study were to determine how information sharing and joint planning relates with market share growth of bread and confectionery firms in Port Harcourt. The research design adopted was the correlational research design and the chosen population for this study comprised of thirty-two (32) bread and confectionery firms in Port Harcourt. This study adopted the census approach in which 5 managers were selected from each of the bread bakery firms in Port Harcourt, this brought about a total of one hundred and sixty (160) respondents. However, only 132 managers properly filled and returned their questionnaire for the study that was designed in the Likert 5-point scale of strongly disagree to strongly disagree. Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to test the two null hypotheses developed for this study. The results of the analysis it was revealed that collaboration which are information sharing and joint planning have positively and significantly relate with market share growth. Based on these findings, was concluded that timely and accurate exchange of information with suppliers contributes to competitive positioning. More notably, joint planning exhibits a strong and statistically significant positive relationship with market share growth. Therefore, the study recommended amongst others that bread and confectionery firms should actively engage suppliers in joint planning sessions to align production schedules, demand forecasts, and market strategies, thereby improving responsiveness and market performance.