Supplier relationship management and organizational performance of hospitals in an emerging economy context A comparative study Stephen Oduro Faculty of Economics, Universita degli studi Internazionali di Roma, Roma, Italy Kwamena Minta Nyarku Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, School of Business College of Humanities and Legal Studies, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana, and Rotimi A. Gbadeyan Department of Marketing, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria Abstract Purpose – Integrating the social exchange and resource dependency theories, the study aims to comparatively examine the supplier relationship management (SRM) dimensions and organizational performance links of private and public hospitals in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – Comparative in nature; employing a quantitative approach; and using simple random and convenience sampling techniques, the study tested the proposed hypotheses using structural equation model-partial least square based on 205 usable questionnaires. Partial least square- multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA) was performed to test the significance of the difference in the parameters between the two samples: private and public hospitals in Ghana. Findings – The dimensions of SRM (communication, cooperation, trust, atmosphere and adaptation) have a significant, positive impact on private hospitals’ performance in Ghana. Similarly, communication and trust were found to be positively and significantly correlated to public hospitals’ performance. In contrast, cooperation, atmosphere and adaptation dimensions showed no significant, positive effect on public hospitals’ performance. PLS-MGA disclosed that these observed differences in the findings between the private and public hospitals in Ghana are statistically significant. Research limitations/implications – The findings of the study, while limited to hospitals in Ghana, are likely to be relevant in other emergingeconomies for effective and enhanced supply chain relationship management. Practical implications – The findings provide pragmatic insights for marketing practitioners and organizational leaders of hospitals about the significance of SRM dimensions in today’s globalized marketplace, and how to nurture them to enhance organizational performance. Originality/value – The value of the study lies in the examination of the relationship between SRM and organizational performance in the health sector by comparing private and public hospitals in an emerging economy context. Keywords Supplier relationship management, Organizational performance, Social exchange theory, Resource dependency theory, PLS-MGA, Ghana, Supply chain management Paper type Research paper Organizational performance of hospitals Received 25 March 2019 Revised 7 July 2019 26 September 2019 19 December 2019 Accepted 14 January 2020 Journal of Modelling in Management © Emerald Publishing Limited 1746-5664 DOI 10.1108/JM2-03-2019-0072 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1746-5664.htm