The effect of supply chain integration on information sharing: Enhancing the supply chain performance

Prior research on supply chain management (SCM) suggests that information sharing has become a major driver of competitive advantage. In the context of increasingly globalized and competitive economy where organizations are part of an environment characterized by networks of inter-and intra-organizational relationships, an important prerequisite of information sharing emerges as supply chain integration (SCI). Little attention has; however, been paid to the effect of SCI on information sharing. This study focuses on the influence of SCI on information sharing and supply chain performance (SCP) and the role of information sharing in shaping SCP. Hence, the main purpose of this study is to evince the influence of supply chain integration (SCI) on information sharing and SCP. Furthermore, improved supply chain supply chain coordination, quality of products and services, reduced supply chain costs and the achievement of competitive advantage is directly related to effective information sharing. Thus, information sharing has become an important issue canalizing this study to further investigate the impact of information sharing on SCP. The conceptual model comprises of 3 research hypotheses with 3 main constructs; SCI, information sharing and SCP. Yet we categorize the constructs as; integration with customers, integration with suppliers, and the inter-organizational integration as the levels of SCI; the four types of information sharing namely; information sharing with customers, information sharing with suppliers, inter-functional information sharing, and intra-organizational information sharing; and the 4 constructs of SCP which are expenses of costs, asset utilization, supply chain reliability, and supply chain flexibility and responsiveness. The constructs are measured by well-supported measures in the literature. The hypotheses are tested via an empirical study in which data are collected from 158 manufacturing firms in Turkey mainly Marmara Region, that are among the top 500 Turkish manufacturing firms of 2010 listed by Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. The results suggest that the role played by SCI is critical in information sharing process as it reinforces connectedness, coordination and collaboration among SC members. Moreover the findings of the study provide useful insights on how organizations should benefit from information sharing so as to improve their SCP.