Enabling supply chain agility through process integration and supply flexibility: Evidence from the fashion industry
Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics
ISSN: 1355-5855
Article publication date: 24 October 2019
Issue publication date: 14 January 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the underlying mechanism through which firms can achieve supply chain agility and augment business performance from the vendor’s perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on dynamic capability view and contingency theory, the study conceptualizes a moderated mediation model to investigate the underlying influence of process integration (PI), supply flexibility and product-related complexity on supply chain agility and the subsequent effect of supply chain agility on firm’s business performance. Survey data from a sample of 148 firms, in the garment manufacturing industry, in Pakistan were analyzed using partial least square methods.
Findings
The results revealed that supply flexibility (i.e. volume and mix) mediates the effect of PI on supply chain agility. Supply chain agility, in turn, influences a firm’s business performance. Furthermore, the competence‒capability framework is not consistent across the varying degrees of product complexity such as product complexity hinders the effect of supply flexibility on supply chain agility, whereas it amplifies the impact of PI on supply chain agility. The conditional indirect effects suggest that the indirect effect of PI on supply chain agility through supply flexibility becomes stronger when product complexity is high.
Originality/value
The study is novel in the context of an emerging economy to educate fashion vendors to tune their competencies and capabilities to regain the market share in the global market place.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Editor, Professor Ian Phau and anonymous reviewers for their honest, helpful and constructive comments. This work was supported in part by the NSFC under Grants 71931009 and 71671023 and in part by the Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of NSFC under Grant 71421001, the development Foundation of teaching and scientific research for teachers of Liberal Arts in Zhejiang University.
Citation
Irfan, M., Wang, M. and Akhtar, N. (2020), "Enabling supply chain agility through process integration and supply flexibility: Evidence from the fashion industry", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 519-547. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-03-2019-0122
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited