The Influence Factors Of Supply Chain Collaboration Based On Partnership

The two related concepts, supply chain partnership and collaboration, developed from supply chain management, and they make the success or failure of SCM jointly. From the perspective of partnership, the focal influence factors on collaboration and the affecting mechanism were analyzed, with the strategy proposed to elevate collaboration performance through improving partnership.The main innovative contents and conclusions are as follows.A conceptual framework of the impact of partnership on collaboration was developed and tested by empirical study. According to the characteristic of manufacturing industry, a research model was constructed incorporating supply chain relationship, collaboration, and supply chain performance. Six elements of supply chain relationship were surveyed include trust, communication, commitment, adaptation, interdependence, and co-operation. Supply chain collaboration was defined as imformation sharing, decision synchronization, and incentive alignment. Supply chain performance was measured by delivery, inventory cost, and flexibility. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the impact with data collected from 163 manufacturing firms. The results reveal that supply chain relationship evoles a strong positive effect on collaboration, and supply chain relationship and collaboration have a positive effect on supply chain performance.Focal influence factors were affirmed in the context of collaboration, and their interaction was examined by empirical method. Based on the above empirical result, the focal elements of patnership were communication, trust, commitment, and co-operation. According to the development process of supply chain relationship, a conceptual framework was developed incorporating dimensions of supply chain relationship and collaboration. Structural equation modelling with data gathered from 163 manufacturing firms was applied to test the sequence of the impact. The results show that supply chain relationship evoles from communication, and trust can be formed, with commitment and co-operation to be developed, and positive effect on supply chain collaboration is produced through co-operation. And also communication and trust are two most important drivers to make effects on collaboration.The mechanisms of the impact of key elements on the three dimensions of collaboration were illustrated. Taking examples from organization coordination theory, a conceptual model about information sharing was developed with three influence factors: trust, power and incentive allignment. Structural equation modelling with data collected from 161 manufacturing firms was used to test the impact. The results indicate that trust, with strong correlaion with incentive allignment, has a positive effect on information sharing and decision synchronization, but non-coercive power only affects information sharing. Among three dimensions of supply chain collaboration, incentive alignment evolves positive effect on information sharing and decision synchronization, and information sharing affects decision synchronization, with supply chain performance improved through the effect of decision synchronization. And then more influence mechanisms of the four factors on the three dimensions of collaboration were analyzed. Their roles in the different life cycle of collaboration were discussed. Communication is a wide-effected factor, and trust makes its important effect in the development and promotion of relationship. Commitment and co-operation also make effects on collaboration directly or indirectly.The mechanisms and tactics of promoting collaboration through partnership were demonstrated. After analyzing the determinants of the four focal elements and the improving mechanisms, a path was presented to improve collaboration practice, i.e., to construct trust collaboration by means of communication, to conduct information collaboration through trust system, to implement decision synchronization through trust system and information sharing, and to attain strategic and cultural collaboration through all these efforts, combined with co-operation and long-term relationship commitment.