Understanding supplier satisfaction as a mediating mechanism in buyer–supplier relationships: An SOR perspective

This study investigates how transactional and relational practices influence supplier loyalty through satisfaction-based mechanisms from a supplier-centric perspective in a manufacturing procurement context in Indonesia. Drawing on a stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework, Communication and Payment Practice are modeled as relational stimuli, Supplier Satisfaction as the central evaluative mechanism, and Trust and Preferred Customer Treatment as behavioral responses. Survey data from 210 active suppliers of an Indonesian manufacturing firm were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that Communication (β = 0.529) and Payment Practice (β = 0.396) significantly enhance Supplier Satisfaction, which in turn influences Trust (β = 0.634), Preferred Customer Treatment (β = 0.725), and Supplier Loyalty (β = 0.586). Mediation analysis suggests dominant indirect effects on Trust and full mediation for Preferred Customer Treatment, highlighting satisfaction as the key relational transmission mechanism. IPMA results further indicate that Supplier Satisfaction and Trust are the primary drivers of Loyalty, while Payment Practice, although not a dominant driver, exhibits comparatively lower performance and may warrant targeted operational improvement. The findings suggest that supplier loyalty is shaped more by cumulative satisfaction-based evaluations than by isolated transactional actions, particularly within manufacturing contexts characterized by ongoing supplier interactions.