$.$ How does the NZ case challenge Porter$$s view of procurement?

Systematic sourcing practices influence the value output in the posited value type

categories. The HR management practices exert an indirect influence on the value

RMIT Classification: Trustedgeneration through the development of technical and behavioural skills required to

perform systematic and sourcing practices with a higher competence level. The

results of the study show a positive relationship between practices and value

generation. Three groups of value were identified: $(1)$ Strategic Values, $(2)$

Resilience Values, and $(3)$ Value$-$add Values. Practices related to the internal

integration of the business functions aligned behind a long$-$term strategy, lead

organisations to build valuable assets crucial for sustained superior performance.

Cross$-$functional interaction and collaboration with other functions create a

consensus that strengths the ability to engage in strategic activities that lead to

company success. Measuring the value contribution of procurement facilitates the

business ability to assess performance over time and allows to foster the behaviours

and actions required to keep strategic alignment. $($Purchasing$,2019).$ Finally, the

application of the TCO $($Total Cost of Ownership$)$ concepts constitutes in a long$-$term

system$-$oriented approach that helps to understand the real cost of doing business of

the organisation $($Ellram et al$.,2002).$

Data collected from NZ firms show alignment with the literature for the local context.

Mollenkopf and Dapiran $(2005$b$)$ identified that NZ firms tend to score higher in

internal capabilities than in externally oriented capabilities. A different study of the

same authors evidenced that about $54\%$ of the sampled firms were following process

strategy $($consistent with internal focus$)$ rather than channel strategies $($consistent

with external integration$)($Mollenkopf & Dapiran, $2005$a$).$ Surprisingly, reputation

turned to be the value type with the highest score. The NZ firm$$s necessity of

becoming more market$-$oriented can be one of the reasons for this result. As

mentioned during the literature review, attaining good reputation is a decisive

advantage that benefits organisations in a double way: Customers pay premium

prices for offerings of high reputation firms, and suppliers offer lower contracting

costs in the absence of hazard concerns $($Roberts & Dowling, $2002).$ Mollenkopf

suggested that NZ firms tend to be more market nichers, especially in their overseas

operation, and achieving a good reputation is essential for supporting that

competitive strategy.

Regarding the resilience values group, the extant literature supports the relationship

found with sourcing practices. An organisation increases the resilience capability

when establishing collaborative relationships with the external members of the

increasing chain visibility, flexibility, and reducing risk and vulnerability across the

whole value network. It needs to be noted that the external integrative nature of the

sourcing practices group provides the elements to develop trusty relationships with

the supply base maximising the value contributions of the trading partners. The

average results for resilience values observed in the sample of NZ organisations can

be linked the low scores obtained by sourcing practices which provide the

relationship management, collaboration and information sharing components to build

resilience $($Christopher & Peck, $2004).$

Finally, the effect of the sourcing practices on the generation of Value$-$add values

may be the most valuable finding in this study. The values grouped in this category

are closely related to operational ways of increasing value offerings. The operational

RMIT Classification: Trustedoutcomes posited by Hartmann et al$.(2012)$ of Innovation, cost, and quality grouped

in this category. Moreover, the types of value residing in this group relate closely to

higher levels of supply chain integration. A study conducted by Pagell $(2004)$ in

regards to the factors that enable or inhibit integration, notes that in essence, the

concept of supply chain management is really about integration. Whereas systematic

practices provide internal and strategic alignment of the firms for the long$-$term run,

the sourcing practices provide the elements required for contributing to the fulfilment

of the value expectations of the customers and the overall objectives of the firms.

The value$-$add values group recorded the lowest frequency of obtention in the

sampled firms. This result is a consequence of the lower scores obtained by the

sourcing practices. Studies in SCM for the NZ context have associated low

innovation levels to small market size, lack of domestic competition, high amount of

small business and low levels of expenditures in research and development. Studies

on innovation show a positive correlation between innovation rate and product

market competition. Low innovati