Three hypotheses are tested to determine if purchasing skills are related to strategic purchasing, a firm's financial performance, and supplier responsiveness. To test the hypotheses, a survey was administered to a sample of purchasing vice presidents, directors, and managers. A holdout sample was used for exploratory data analysis to test for type (manufacturing compared to non-manufacturing firms) and size (large compared to small firms). A regression analysis of the remaining sample of 85 surveys indicated that purchasing skills were related to strategic purchasing, a firm's financial performance, and supplier responsiveness. Both research and managerial implications are discussed.

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