Guanxi and information sharing in supply chain quality management: a multi-method investigation

Abstract

Companies are facing increasing challenges in managing product quality in their supply chains. To address the question of how to effectively mitigate quality issues by conducting quality management practices in the supply chain, the present study seeks to explore the relationship between Guanxi, information sharing (IS) and four important dimensions of supply chain quality management (SCQM). Our empirical investigation follows a mixed-methods approach using survey data from 468 managers working in Chinese companies and by applying structural equation modelling, outcomes suggest that separately applying Guanxi and IS can improve the performance of SCQM activities. Considering the interdependencies between different SCQM processes, we apply a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method to demonstrate different combinations of core elements in their attainment of high levels of SCQM dimensions. Three case studies are also conducted to determine how these factors, as well as other crucial enablers or inhibitors, emerge, interact, and impact each SCQM stage. The outcomes of case studies reinforce and refine the findings of the fsQCA analysis and highlight the synergy effects between four SCQM dimensions and how Guanxi and IS can be applied when orchestrating these dimensions.

Keywords:

• Supply chain quality management
• Guanxi
• information sharing
• SEM
• fsQCA

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Due to the research ethical agreement between the researcher and respondent, the data is not an open data source. Further query please contact the corresponding author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wenjuan Zeng

Dr Wenjuan Zeng is a lecturer in in Business Analytics at the University of Essex. Essex Business School. She completed her PhD degree at Cardiff University and master degree at University of Southampton in the UK. Her research interests cover a wide range of topics, including Operations Management and Data Analytics. Her previous research has focused on green innovation, supply chain quality management, and business analytics in the healthcare industry. To carry out her research, she employs various methods, including quantitative research, fsQCA, sentiment topic (JST) and latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modelling techniques. She has published work in journals such as Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.

Ying Kei Tse

Ying Kei (Mike) Tse is a Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management at Cardiff University (Cardiff Business School). His research encompasses various research methodologies, including empirical research, social media analytics, and eye-tracking studies, all centred around the dynamic field of risk and crisis management in Operations and Supply Chain Management. Mike has published more than 60 academic articles, including high-quality journals such as International Journal of Operations and Production Management (IJOPM), British Journal of Management (BJM), IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (IEEE TEM), International Journal of Production Economics (IJPE), International Journal of Production Research (IJPR), Journal of Business Research (JBR), Production Planning and Control (PPC), Annals of Operations Research (AOR), Industrial Management and Data Systems (IMDS), and Computers and Education (C&E) among others.

Robert Mason

Robert Mason is a Chair in Logistics at Cardiff Business School who has just concluded his role as Head of the School’s Logistics and Operations Management Section, a position he held for 3 ½ years. He has led/participated in a number of research programmes over an academic year of 20 years publishing around 120 papers around two main themes: logistics and developing organizational process capability. He has also co-authored, with Barry Evans, three books which bring much of this work together. His research interests centre on the optimization of supply chain system processes which includes topics such as the integration of transport/logistics into national and international supply networks, the management of inter-organizational relationships (vertical and horizontal) and the organization of enterprise to deliver customer value in a resilient and sustainable way. He has a particular focus on the retail logistics sector.