Supply Chain Collaboration and Performance Effects

Today I have been reading the paper by Zacharia, Nix and Lusch on Supply Chain Collaboration. The goal of the paper was to assess firm-level business performance outcomes of collaboration projects. This was done using a survey of nearly 500 supply chain professionals.

Model

Zacharia, Nix, Lusch (2009)

The authors suggest the following hypothesis:

• H1: The greater the interdependence of knowledge and process, the higher the level of collaboration among the firms.
• H2: The greater the level of supply chain partner insight, the higher the level of collaboration among the firms.
• H3: The higher the level of collaboration, the better the operational outcomes.
• H4: The higher the level of collaboration, the better the relational outcomes (trust, credibility and relationship effectiveness) between the collaborating firms.
• H5: The better the operational outcomes, the better the relational outcomes between the collaborating firms.
• H6: The better the operational outcomes, the better the performance at the firm level (organizational performance, asset utilization, competitive position, and profit).
• H7: The better the relational outcomes, the better the performance at the firm level (organizational performance, asset utilization, competitive position, and profit).

Implications

After conducting the survey all hypothesis are accepted (0,001 and 0,01 levels). These results imply that a) collaboration can lead to more effective solutions by joining forces (resource based view), furthermore, b) understanding of the collaboration partner is key to a successful collaboration. c) Collaboration projects can be challenging and firms are sometimes not willing to set aside the necessary resources. d) Improvements of operational and relational outcomes of a collaboration project lead to better business performance.

Conclusion

The paper closes a gap which it desires to address: how does collaboration affect the individual firm? But it also leaves some for further research. Before reading I would have expected a greater focus on the quantitative evaluation of the business performance side. The study clearly supports the view that collaboration is good for the business performance of the individual firm, but the method used is too qualitative and subjective to derive the key influence factors for improving business performance by collaboration.