Research On The Supply Chain Resources Integration Models From The Perspective Of Cultural Evolution

Under the global competition, the scope of enterprise resources integration is expanding beyond organizational and national borders, the selection of resources integration model is no longer a pure technology problem, but influenced largely by the characteristics of national culture. The dissertation attempts to recover the relationship between characteristics of national culture and resources integration model from the perspective of cultural evolution. This will help supply chain enterprises select the right resources integration model to attain competitive advantage.Firstly, dynamic mechanism of cultural evolution is proposed from the perspective of evolutionary theory. Based on the comparative study of the characteristics of national culture among America, Japan and China, four evolution types of Chinese national-organizational culture are divided according to Hofstede's cultural dimension theory and Quinn's Competing Values Framework.Secondly, the dissertation presents the concepts of resource and resources integration based on RBT (Resource-Based Theory). The relationship between evolutionary characteristics of Chinese national-organizational culture and enterprise resources integration is analyzed by using soft system CATWOE analysis. This dissertation establishes the evolutionary game model of supply chain enterprise resources integration under the condition of organizational elements, and analyzes its dynamic evolution process.Then, the dissertation presents the conceptual framework on the relationship between cultural elements and supply chain enterprise resources integration models (RIMs). And the latter, divided by property rights of resources, not firm boundary, as internal resources integration model (IRIM) and external resources integration model (ERIM), is presented as being specific in different cultural contexts. We also explore the polymerization and leverage mechanism of enterprise resources integration model, and the relationship among resource-level competition, strategic flexibility and sustainable competitive advantage.Therefore, a conceptual framework of Organizational Culture-Resources Integration-Strategic Flexibility based upon relevant literature is developed, and the specific impacts of cultural elements on the selection of RIMs are analyzed. To test the theoretical hypotheses, an empirical study was carried out using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique within the Structural Equation Modeling paradigm, with 246 questionnaires from senior managers and employees from manufacturing industries in Tianjin Municipality and Hubei Province. The statistical results showed that there was a close relationship between cultural characteristics and the ways to integrate internal or external resources, though IRIM and ERIM were not necessarily linked. Further discussions of the role that cultural orientation plays in the successful implementation of resources integration process in supply chain management (SCM) is given finally.