The impact of information sharing on supply chain learning and flexibility performance

Abstract

Despite the importance of supply chain learning for competitiveness, little is known about how to enable such learning. This study empirically investigates the impact of information sharing on different types of supply chain learning (internal, supplier, and customer learning) and their influences on flexibility performance. Grounded in absorptive capacity theory, we use structural equation modelling to test the conceptual model based on data collected from 213 manufacturing firms in China. We find that supplier and customer learning improve internal learning. Further, our findings indicate that information sharing improves all three dimensions of supply chain learning. We also find that internal and customer learning have direct influences on flexibility performance, whereas internal learning mediates the relationship between supplier learning and flexibility performance. Moreover, information sharing moderates the relationship between supplier learning and flexibility performance. Our findings contribute to the literature and offer a new framework to understand the relationship between information sharing, supply chain learning and flexibility performance. The findings also furnish managers to seek competitive advantage through information sharing and supply chain learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Information sharing
• supply chain learning
• flexibility performance
• absorptive capacity theory
• empirical research

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (#71525005 and #71821002).

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 71525005 and 71821002].

Notes on contributors

Baofeng Huo

Dr. Baofeng Huo received his PhD degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is currently a Chair Professor of operations management and Dean of College of Management and Economics at Tianjin University. His research interests include logistics and supply chain management. His work has published in the Journal of Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, International Journal of Operations and Management, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Production Research and other journals.

Muhammad Zia Ul Haq

Dr. Muhammad Zia Ul Haq received his PhD degree from Zhejiang University, China. He is currently a lecturer of Business Administration at Air University Multan Campus, Pakistan. His research interests include logistics and supply chain management. His work has published in Industrial Management & Data Systems, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing and other journals.

Minhao Gu

Dr. Minhao Gu received his PhD degree from Zhejiang University, China. He is currently an assistant professor of College of Management and Economics at Tianjian University, China. His research interests include operations and supply chain management. His work has published in International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Production Research, Production Planning & Control and other journals.