“…Spekman and Stern (1979) and Juha and Pentti (2008) further pointed out that specialization is an important measure to reduce risks in the purchasing process, as it enables individuals to react more quickly to changes in the environment. A further discussion of this variable can be found in Lau, Goh, and Phua (1999). The structural variable configuration refers to the design of the authority structure of the organization and includes dimensions such as vertical and lateral spans of control, criteria for segmentation, and numbers of positions in various segments (Pugh, Hickson, Hinings, Macdonald, Turner, and Lupton 1963;Pugh, Hickson, Hinings, and Turner 1968).…”