A multidimensional analysis of supply chain integration in canadian manufacturing

Abstract

Supply chain management is a key element in companies' competitiveness. We surveyed 512 Canadian manufacturers, most of which were small or medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Our survey was structured around four dimensions of supply change integration, namely: nesting, collaboration, financial incorporation, and distancing. In this paper we describe the use of supply chain management practices and show that their use is dependent on the nature of the business partners (i.e., upstream or downstream positioning of partnership in chain logistics of businesses studied), business field (i.e., sector of activities in which the business operates), and organizational size. Our findings suggest that supply chain practices were used more intensively with clients than with suppliers. They also show that practitioners and scholars need to qualify the concept of integration which is often used in a one‐dimensional perspective. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Factors affecting the adoption of supply chain management practices: Evidence from the Brazilian electro-electronic sector

“…The inter-relation between SCM practices, operational capabilities and performance have been emphasised by Hsu et al (2009) and Robb et al (2008). Country studies also reveal the impact of SCM adoption on performance (Olhager & Selldin, 2004;Zhou & Bento, 2007;Koh et al, 2007;Chow et al, 2008;Robb et al, 2008;Halley & Beaulieu, 2010). However, Basnet et al (2003) identified the status of SCM practices at manufacturing companies in New Zealand and verified that the adoption is not well disseminated.…”

“…However, evidence on the relationship between SCM adoption and performance is mixed. The influence of contextual factors (size, position, extension of the chain) in adopting SCM practices are emphasised by Li et al (2005Li et al ( , 2006; Halley and Beaulieu, 2010 additionally emphasise the company's position on the SC and the field of operation. The influence of the industry specific factors have been emphasised by Jharkharia and Shankar (2006) who studied four different types of industry (auto, engineering, fast moving consumer goods, process) in India.…”

“…Several studies (Li et al, 2005(Li et al, , 2006Halley & Beaulieu, 2010) have drawn attention to the effect of contextual factors such as size, position and field of operation on the adoption of SCM practices. Some research has already studied the relationship between the company size and SCM.…”

“…Some of the major findings related to factors influencing the adoption of SCM practices are: the role of contextual factors such as the company's position in the chain, its field of operation (economic sector) and size (Li et al, 2005(Li et al, , 2006Halley & Beaulieu, 2010); the industrial sector (Jharkharia & Shankar, 2006); and the relationship between SCM practices and elements of the operational capacity portfolio (Hsu et al, 2009), such as competitive priorities (Zhao & Lee, 2009). According to Zhao and Lee (2009), competitive priorities (CP) are an important factor influencing the adoption of SCM.…”

“…The studies in SCM practices can be categorised into the following general themes: (a) identification of activities or actions related to SCM at manufacturing companies in different countries (Basnet, Corner, Wisner, & Tan, 2003;Olhager & Selldin, 2004;Halley & Beaulieu, 2010); (b) categorisation and validation of constructs for SCM practices (Tan, Lyman, & Wisner, 2002;Li et al, 2005); (c) verification that the adoption of SCM practices affect company performance Li et al, 2006;Zhou & Benton, 2007;Koh, Demirbag, Bayraktar, Tatoglu, & Zaim, 2007;Chow et al, 2008;Robb, Xie, & Arthanari, 2008;Hsu, Tan, Kannan, & Leong, 2009) and (d) verification that the characteristics of the industrial sector can affect the adoption of SCM practices (Jharkharia & Shankar, 2006). Some of the major findings related to factors influencing the adoption of SCM practices are: the role of contextual factors such as the company's position in the chain, its field of operation (economic sector) and size (Li et al, 2005(Li et al, , 2006Halley & Beaulieu, 2010); the industrial sector (Jharkharia & Shankar, 2006); and the relationship between SCM practices and elements of the operational capacity portfolio (Hsu et al, 2009), such as competitive priorities (Zhao & Lee, 2009).…”