The Effect of Supplier-Health Facility Collaboration on Healthcare Supply Chain Performance in Western Ethiopia: The Role of Supply Chain Integration and Information Sharing - Mixed Method Approach

Abstract

Background - Performance improvement has become top supply chain goals that can be achieved by supply chain collaboration, supply chain integration and information sharing. However, there is scarcity of empirical evidence in examining the extent to which those strategies comprehensively influence the supply chain performance of health facilities in Ethiopian public supply chain. Objective - To determine the impact of supplier-health facility collaboration on healthcare supply chain performance with mediating role of health institution supplier integration, moderating role of information sharing and associated challenges in western Ethiopia, 2025. Method - A concurrent mixed method study conducted from November 2024 & February 2025. A cross-sectional design was applied for quantitative study while the qualitative method used a phenomenological design. Total of 277 participants from health facilities in the Western Ethiopia were selected by using multistage sampling technique. Quantitative data were collected by self administering pretested and expert-reviewed questionnaires. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize socio-demographic variables & relationships among the constructs tested by using a structural equation modeling at 5% level of significance. The measurement model was validated through exploratory factor analysis in SPSS-27 & confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS-26. The results were presented by texts, tables, graph & figures. For the qualitative phase, 12 purposively selected key informants participated in face-to-face interviews & data were analyzed thematically. Result - Among 277 questionnaires, 271 were completed and returned making the response rate 97.8%. Supply chain collaboration, information sharing and health institutions supplier integration all showed positive and significant relationship with the supply chain performance of health facilities, with β values of 0.41, 0.55 and 0.33 respectively at p < 0.001. Health institution-supplier integration also mediated the link between supply chain collaboration and performance with β=0.292 at p value of 0.014. In contrast, information sharing failed to moderate the effect of supply chain collaboration on the supply chain performance (β=0.035 at p value of 0.264) that may be due to intentional over reporting from health facilities in some occasions. Deliberate demand overstatement, work overload, infrastructure, human resource limitations and unilateral decisions are challenges associated to supply chain collaboration, integration and information sharing. Conclusion - The study revealed that information sharing between health facilities and suppliers is the most critical driver of the supply chain performance. Furthermore, strengthening supply chain collaboration and embedding it with robust health institution supplier integration can further enhance significantly the overall performance of health facilities supply chain.