Intricateness versus simplification of interorganizational data exchange and their implications on the operational uncertainty of supply chains

Firms operating in supply chains face a large degree of operational uncertainty inherited from the external coordination with outside suppliers. Operational uncertainty can be translated to supply disruptions and then costly production disruptions. Reducing supply chain operational uncertainty requires high-quality interorganizational coordination with suppliers. A key to high-quality coordination is a good communication mechanism for information exchange with suppliers.;It is a commonly accepted fact now that information technology, especially interorganizational information systems (IOS), can play a significant role in improving interorganizational communication and coordination in supply chains. However, the research pertaining to how to implement such IOS to reduce the operational uncertainty of supply chains has not been adequate. There is a lack of rigorous technical guidelines, in both academics and industrial practice, for building IOS that leads to smooth supply chain operations. The objective of this study is to enhance this field of technical IOS research by (1) developing a technical classification of IT-based interorganizational data exchange in supply chain operations; and, (2) investigating the main effect of IT-based interorganizational data exchange on the operational uncertainty of supply chains, as well as the mediating effect of the redundancy of supplier pool on the relationship between IT-based interorganizational data exchange and the operational uncertainty of supply chains.;IT-based interorganizational data exchange was proposed to be a three-order, four-factor construct, varying on the continuum from "intricate" to "simplified". The first second-order sub-construct is Data Interchange Format (Data Specification and Messaging Protocol). The second second-order subconstruct is System Coupling (interface coupling and time coupling). A questionnaire survey was distributed to three industrial clusters (computers and electronics, paper and chemicals) examining the relationships among IT-based interorganizational data exchange, the redundancy of supplier pool and the uncertainty in supply chain operations. The results suggested that simplified IT-based interorganizational data exchange was positively related to the reduced factual uncertainty of supply operations and was negatively related to the redundancy of supplier pool. Meanwhile, IT-based interorganizational data exchange and the redundancy of supplier pool were found to be cooperative suppressors when they were used together to predict the uncertainty of supply chain operations.