The impact of supply chain integration on firm performance: The moderating role of competitive strategy
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide empirical evidence of the effectiveness of various supply chain integration (SCI) practices under different competitive strategies in terms of cost leadership and differentiation.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey methodology was used to collect data from 604 Chinese manufacturers. Hierarchical linear regression was used to analyze the moderating effects.
Findings
The results showed that competitive strategies significantly influenced the effectiveness of SCI practices, including internal, process and product integration. More specifically, internal integration significantly affected the financial performance of cost leaders, while process integration contributed more to the financial performance of differentiators. However, competitive strategies had no significant moderating effect on the relationship between SCI and operational performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the literature by exploring the effectiveness of various SCI practices in relation to firm performance under different competitive strategies. The results should be treated with caution, as they may be more meaningful in China.
Practical implications
The findings clarify the alignment of SCI with competitive strategies for practitioners, so that they can allocate their limited resources to build various SCI capabilities based on their strategic choices.
Originality/value
The results enhance the body of knowledge on SCI from the perspective of contextual factors to explore its effectiveness at a more detailed level. This study extends the literature on the match between competitive strategies and SCI in improving financial performance.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (#71090403/71090400, #71233003, #71002005 and #71372058), Key Project of Philosophy and Social Sciences Research of Ministry of Education (#12JZD042), a fund from program for innovative research team at UIBE and the Institute of Supply Chain Integration and Service Innovation.
Citation
Huo, B., Qi, Y., Wang, Z. and Zhao, X. (2014), "The impact of supply chain integration on firm performance: The moderating role of competitive strategy", Supply Chain Management, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 369-384. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-03-2013-0096
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited