Supply chain integration (SCI) has come to the forefront of academics and practitioners. Little is known regarding how companies achieve supply chain integration. This study identifies capabilities that affect supply chain integration. SCI, itself, is conceptualized as a process integration capability. Supply chain processes include demand management, procurement, manufacturing flow management, customer service management, order fulfillment, new product development, and returns management.; Resource-based theory, process management, and market orientation are among the theories utilized to explain SCI. SCI is enabled by operations, information technology (IT), and marketing capabilities. Operations capabilities include partner selection, collaboration, learning from partners, and operations human resources. IT capability refers to IT technical infrastructure and IT human infrastructure. Marketing capability refers to market orientation.; Structural equation modeling is used to test relationships between organizational capabilities, supply chain integration, and firm performance. Collaboration is the only one of the operations capabilities to relate positively to supply chain integration. Both IT infrastructure and market orientation are strongly related to supply chain integration. The positive impact of supply chain integration on firm performance provides support for the conceptualization of supply chain integration and the overall model. Findings encourage managers to focus on relevant capabilities and increase the role of market orientation and, hence, the marketing function in supply chain integration.
展开▼
