Track: Supply Chain Management

Abstract

 A modern supply chain (SC) is required to exhibit three important characteristics: agility, adaptability and alignment, collectively known as the triple A of SC. SC flexibility, which is a major component of SC agility, has also attracted most SC researchers and practitioners. Another desirable SC characteristic that is often advocated by academia is SC e-integration. SC scholars nowadays recommend the seamless e-integration of the SC, just as a strategic tool for efficient and effective coordination of business operations in a dynamic environment. Consequently, the triple A’s and e-integration may be considered as the most desirable SC characteristics. In this study, we investigate the relationship between SC e-integration and SC flexibility, the impact of environmental uncertainty and market competition on SC characteristics, and the impact of SC characteristics on firm performance. To this end, we propose a conceptual model that depicts these relationships, which we describe using our new hypotheses and other results from the literature. Further, we relate SC flexibility to organizational strategy types.