Impact of Strategic Supplier Partnership on Logistics Outsourcing Performance with Mediating Role of Logistics Outsourcing Practices: Evidence from Pakistan's Textile Sector

Abstract In todays fast-paced and internationally connected business environment, effective supply chain management stands at a strategic significance in most sectors with high operational complexity and global competition. This study is aimed at the investigation of the effect of Strategic Supplier Partnerships (SSPs), which act as predictor variables, on Logistics Outsourcing Performance (LOPR), while Logistics Outsourcing Practices (LOP) are examined as the mediating variable. Anchored on the Social Exchange Theory (SET), the study investigates how long-term, trustbased relationships with suppliers impact the quality of logistics outsourcing with outcomes in Pakistan's textile sector-an important sector in the national economy yet has much of logistical inefficiencies and external uncertainties. The study is a quantitative research design and analysis is done using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling for data modeling. The study collected responses from supply chain professionals of clothing manufacturing firms in Pakistan. The results demonstrated that SSP jointly enhances LOP and LOPR. In addition, LOP partially mediates the relationship between SSP and LOPR, which implies that strong outsourcing practices are the channel by which strategic partnerships would provide benefits on performance. The results provide contributions both theoretically and practically. For instance, theoretically, the study adds to supply chain literature regarding the relational and operational dimensions contained in outsourcing effectiveness. In practice, this provides actionable insights for managers targeting authoritative strength in supplier collaboration by optimizing third-party logistics. This emphasizes the essentiality of strategic relational investments and a structured outsourcing framework within the decision channel in making performance difference in emerging market of supply chains.