Supply Chain Collaboration, Integration, and Relational Technology: How Complex Operant Resources Increase Performance Outcomes

Abstract

H ow firms coordinate efforts to collectively compete as supply chains is a key concern of supply chain management scholars and practitioners. One avenue, the development of collaborative relational capabilities that support supply chain integration, offers promise. However, the effectiveness of collaboration as a supply chain resource has been questioned due to concerns associated with collaborative technologies, and thus prior research has called for a deeper examination of the role that technologies play in facilitating integration. Employing a Service-Dominant Logic view of hierarchical resources, grounded in Resource Advantage Theory, this research tests a model subsuming relationships between collaboration, integration, and interfirm coordination technologies, and their associated performance outcomes. A sample of 282 supply chain managers from a variety of industries were surveyed, with proposed relationships examined employing structural equation modeling. Test results indicate that collaboration and integration interact to form higher order resources that collectively influence firm performance outcomes through interfirm coordination technologies.

The impacts of IT capability and marketing capability on supply chain integration: a resource-based perspective

“…In fact, despite the notion that effective integration can contribute to firm performance, the nature and implications of the integration of marketing and supply chain have not been empirically investigated at great length in the literature (Jüttner and Christopher, 2013;Kozlenkova et al, 2015;Mentzer and Gundlach, 2010). This is surely why others have called for a greater understanding of the topic (Adams et al, 2014).…”

“…While IT often necessitates a substantial investment, it may offer little value without the appropriate resources being in place and available (Adams et al, 2014). Further Adams et al (2014) suggest these resources may have both direct and interacting effects on outcomes.…”

“…Further Adams et al (2014) suggest these resources may have both direct and interacting effects on outcomes.…”

“…We chose these particular capabilities because they are fundamental building blocks of supply chain capability (Swink et al, 2010). Additionally, managers and researchers understand the criticality of these two functional capabilities (Ho and Tang, 2004;Nath et al, 2010;Yu et al, 2014), but need to understand how these building blocks interrelate to improve SCI (Adams et al, 2014;Ghobakhloo and Tang, 2014).…”

Performance measurement in horizontal LSP cooperation as a field of conflict: the preventive role of collaborative processes

“…Here, our research provides one additional step by focussing on actionable collaborative processes (i.e., joint action and information sharing) in a concrete environment (i.e., PM) that can be applied to contribute to a reduction of the overall levels of affective and cognitive conflicts within a horizontal cooperation. This, at the same time, underscores that collaboration is an approach to improve the performance of supply chain relationships [89], and that PM is of key importance to horizontal alliances in that it not only is an area prone to conflict, but also one with the potential to mitigate conflict.…”