Specialized Conferences as a Tool for Reducing Transaction Costs in Supply Chains

Amid the growing volatility of global supply chains in the electronic component base (ECB) sector, companies face the urgent need to identify effective mechanisms for cost reduction and enhanced operational resilience. This study provides a quantitative assessment of the impact of specialized industry conferences on key performance indicators of supply chains. Using a quasi–experimental design with the Difference–in–Differences (DiD) method and complementary econometric models, the research analyzes data on interactions between ECB suppliers and consumers. The purpose of the study is to determine the role of conferences as a tool for reducing transaction costs, manifested through shorter contract negotiation times, fewer defects, and greater supply reliability. The results show that participation in conferences statistically significantly reduces deal finalization time, lowers the likelihood of quality-related disputes, and decreases the variability of delivery times. Empirical analysis confirmed that participation in conferences reduced the average contract negotiation time by 12.8 % (p < 0.01), reflecting a decline in coordination costs and an improvement in communication efficiency among market participants. Particular attention is paid to the joint participation of engineering and procurement specialists, which has a stronger positive effect compared to the participation of commercial representatives alone. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the application of rigorous econometric methods to evaluate an informal coordination institution and in the integration of approaches from transaction cost theory and network analysis.