An inductive framework for enhancing supply chain integration

Abstract

We report the inductive development of a framework for enhancing the integration of supply chains. The framework has been motivated by the need to enhance the participation of small and medium enterprise (SME) suppliers and resellers in the supply chain. Extant diagnostics are geared towards enabling enterprises to evaluate or benchmark themselves on a self-administered rating scale in relation to their peers. In contrast, the present framework aims to enable small-sized suppliers and resellers to systematically imbibe supply chain integration practices, to the extent applicable, from their more advanced trading partners, after possibly adapting them to their own business circumstances. The broad approach has been to first conduct in-depth case study research into enterprises that excel in one or more facets of integration (customer integration, supplier integration etc.) and then induce items pertaining to various themes and sub-themes of supply chain integration. The resulting framework is thus an empirically well-grounded and fine-grained, actionable complement to extant, broader-brushed mechanisms and diagnostics for supply chain integration.

Keywords:

• Supply chain integration
• Enhancement framework
• Assessment mechanism
• Small and medium enterprises
• Induction
• Case study

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge with deep gratitude the participation in this research of corporate members of a forum on Enterprise Systems and Supply Chain Management that is based at the University of Auckland Business School. They are very grateful to two reviewers whose insightful comments have greatly helped to enhance the manuscript. They also thank Dr Kabossa Msimangira for comments on earlier drafts of the present manuscript.