| With rapid changes in environments, advances in technology, and globalization of markets, organizations have become increasingly aware of the needs to optimize the performance of whole supply chains rather than individual organizations. To survive and thrive in the competition, firms have strived to achieve greater supply chain collaboration to leverage the resources and knowledge of suppliers and customers. Internet based technologies, particularly interorganizational systems (IOS), further extend the firms' opportunities to strengthen their supply chain partnerships and share real-time information to optimize their operations. The objective of the study is to uncover the nature and characteristics, antecedents, and consequences of supply chain collaboration from multiple theoretical perspectives.; Based on the rationale of value co-creation, the research conceptualizes supply chain collaboration as seven interconnecting elements: information sharing, goal congruence, decision synchronization, incentive alignment, resource sharing, collaborative communication, and joint knowledge creation. These seven components in concert are necessary and sufficient to define the occurrence of collaborative efforts. This definition and its components allow us to explain supply chain collaboration more precisely.; The research applies multiple theories (e.g., transaction cost, resource based, social exchange, trust based rationalism, and knowledge based theories) to explain the role of IOS in supply chain collaboration. Grounded in extensive literature, the study proposes a theoretical framework relating supply chain collaboration, its antecedents (IT capability, IOS appropriation, collaborative culture, and trust) and its consequences (collaborative advantage and firm performance). Reliable and valid instruments of these constructs were developed through rigorous empirical and statistical analysis. The methodology employed includes structured interviews, a pilot study (Q-sort), and a large-scale study. Data were collected through a Web survey of national manufacturing firms in various industries and 211 usable responses were generated. The statistical methods used include confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (i.e., LISREL).; The research findings support the notion that there are significant, positive relationships among collaborative culture, trust, IT resources, IOS appropriation, supply chain collaboration, collaborative advantage, and firm performance. The research extends our understanding of the attributes of supply chain collaboration, the forces leading to the development of supply chain collaboration, and issues involved in creating and managing the collaboration. A better understanding of supply chain collaboration leads to the better management of it. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed. |
