PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically test the relationship between supply chain (SC) collaboration and performance improvement.Design/methodology/approachIn keeping with the extant literature, hypotheses were developed incorporating dimensions of supplier and customer collaboration and performance improvement. Factor analysis and linear statistical models for correlation and analysis of variance were used to test the hypotheses with IMSS 2001 data on 374 firms from the engineering/assembly industry across 11 European countries.FindingsOnly weak empirical support was found for the hypothesized positive relationships between supplier (or customer) collaboration and performance improvement. There was partial empirical support for the impact of collaboration, both with suppliers and customers, on rates of improvement. For information exchange, performance improvement in respect of cost, flexibility, quality, and procurement was supported, whereas for structural collaboration, only improvement in respect of flexibility and procurement was supported. There was strong empirical support for the hypothesized higher levels of collaboration among companies showing higher performance improvement.Research limitations/implicationsUsing cross‐sectional (versus longitudinal), perceptual (rather than absolute) data, coming from a principal firm (rather than from each collaborative entity).Practical implicationsThis study indicates that firms need to adopt a concerted approach to collaboration both with suppliers and customers in order to reap maximum performance improvement benefits in the area of cost, flexibility, quality, delivery, procurement, and time‐to‐market.Originality/valueThis study goes beyond analytical modeling and case‐study research on the relationship between SC collaboration and performance improvement and offers industry‐based empirical results on consolidated practical and theoretical insights.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.*Related content and download information correct at time of download. Steve MuylleMarketing Area, Vlerick Business School and Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Abstract Purpose -Companies increasingly exchange information to work more closely with supply chain partners. Although information exchange is a critical element for up-and downstream partnerships, the purpose of this paper is to indicate that it is not a guarantee for improved performance and should be combined with other integration tactics to fully capture its benefits. Design/methodology/approach -Using a global sample in the industrial sector, a moderated mediation framework for both upstream and downstream integration, which links integration tactics to operational performance, was empirically tested. Findings -This research shows that operational integration is indispensable to capture the benefits of information exchange. In addition, it points out that the impact of the use of information technology (IT) is stronger for upstream integration. Practical implications -While the data show that the use of IT significantly improves the delivery performance in the supply chain, it also signals to managers how and when to invest in supply chain integration tactics. Originality/value -This paper contributes to a better understanding of the supply chain integrationperformance link, by clarifying some of the inconsistencies in previous literature and by simultaneously analyzing upstream and downstream implications.

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