Ongoing Research Projects

PROJECT TRUST: BUILDING TRUST IN THE HEALTH SECTOR SUPPLY CHAIN

HSRC-ASU is carrying out a comprehensive study (multiphase) of trust in the health sector supply chain which is characterized by complex network of relationships .Building on previous research we propose to study the role of collaboration, compatibility, complexity, and communication in these relationships.

Study Goals include:

• To describe the dynamic nature of multi-faceted relationships
• To identify the factors in the most successful relationships
• To identify the barriers that inhibit building of trust in these relationships
• To determine if there are scenarios where trust in a multi-faceted relationship does not provide added value
• Analyze contracting, site specific assets, and human specific assets for:
  • Scenarios where they contribute towards building trust in a relationship
  • Scenarios where they negatively impact trust in a relationship
• To create a tool that allows assessment of trust by those involved in multi-faceted relationships in the health sector supply chain
• Provide guidance to hospitals, suppliers and intermediaries for:
  • The development of sustainable site-specific assets and embedded ties including the sharing of information, technology and human resources that lead to trusting relationships
  • Understand the extent to which different levels of asset sharing and embeddedness improve upstream and downstream performance for suppliers and build trust between suppliers and buyers.

Phase I of Project Trust: The study provided data on hospital supply chain leaders’ perception of areas that impact building collaborative relationships with suppliers. This phase is currently in progress with data analysis from the survey and subsequent development of a manuscript for publication in academic journals.

Phase II of Project Trust: The study aims to understand the Supplier’s perception of the importance of specific areas in building collaborative relationships with their primary customer. These areas include: human resources, IT, shared goals, contracts, trust, dependency, responsiveness and strategy. The study also aims to understand the barriers that exist in building collaborative relationships from the Supplier’s perspective.