Business ecosystem embeddedness to enhance supply chain competence: the key role of external knowledge capacities

Figures & data

Table 1. Sample demographics.

Variables	Frequency (N)	Percentage (%)
Age
<10	101	37.3
10−29	105	38.7
30−49	35	12.9
>50	30	11.1
Size
Micro enterprises (<10)	73	26.9
Small enterprises (10–49)	77	28.4
Medium-sized enterprises (50–249)	60	22.2
Large enterprises (>250)	61	22.5
Scope
Local	12	4.4
National	55	20.3
International	204	75.3
Industry
1. Agriculture, Forestry And Fishing	1	0.4
2. Manufacturing	59	21.8
3. Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply	12	4.4
4. Water Supply; Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities	4	1.5
5. Construction	3	1.1
6. Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles	16	5.9
7. Transportation and Storage	12	4.4
8. Accomodation and Food Service Activities	1	0.4
9. Information and Communication	77	28.4
10. Financial and Insurance Activities	12	4.4
11. Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	54	19.9
12. Administrative and Support Service Activities	1	0.4
13. Education	1	0.4
14. Human Health and Social Work Activities	3	1.1
15. Arts, Entertainment and Recreation	2	0.7
16. Other Service Activities	12	4.4
17. Activities of Extraterritorial Organisations and Bodies	1	0.4
Ecosystem Dimensions
1. Interdependencies
Low	26	9.6
Medium	111	41.0
High	134	49.4
2. Value Potential
Low	11	4.1
Medium	63	23.2
High	197	72.7
3. Shared components
Low	10	3.7
Medium	117	43.2
High	144	53.1
Business Ecosystem Embeddedness
Low	5	1.8
Medium	108	39.9
High	158	58.3

Notes. N = 271. Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European community NACE Rev. 2 was adopted for industry. From 21 sectors, 17 were represented in our sample.

Table 2. Results of CFA results and goodness of fit statistics.

Variable	λ	Measurement model’s goodness-of-fit statistics
1. Business Ecosystem Embeddedness (α = 0.767; CR = 0.771; AVE = 0.531)		χ^2 = 564.071 with 337 d.f. RMSEA = 0.050 NFI = 0.910 CFI = 0.920 IFI = 0.921 α = 0.911
ECO_IN	0.658
ECO_VP	0.738
ECO_SC	0.784
2. Connective Capacity (α = 0.899; CR = 0.902; AVE = 0.700)
CC01	0.700
CC02	0.820
CC03	0.925
CC04	0.881
3. Absorptive Capacity (α = 0.799; CR = 0.813; AVE = 0.700)
AC01	0.736
AC02	0.630
AC03	0.801
AC04	0.714
4. Desorptive Capacity (α = 0.881; CR = 0.883; AVE = 0.526)
DC01	0.599
DC02	0.615
DC03	0.609
DC04	0.745
DC05	0.893
DC06	0.875
DC07	0.674
5. Supply Chain Competence (α = 0.821; CR = 0.835; AVE = 0.510)
SCC01	0.713
SCC03	0.637
SCC04	0.733
SCC05	0.888
SCC06	0.553

Notes. All t-values > 1.96. χ² is significant at p < 0.000. α: Cronbach’s alpha (α > 0.7); CR: Composite Reliability (CR > 0.7); AVE: Average Variance Extracted (AVE > 0.5).

Table 3. Means, standard deviations and correlations.

Variables	Mean	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1. Business Ecosystem Embeddedness	4.73	1.04	–
2. Connective Capacity	4.61	1.51	0.40**	–
3. Absorptive Capacity	5.17	1.20	0.41**	0.51**	–
4. Desorptive Capacity	4.89	1.29	0.41**	0.60**	0.65**	–
5. Supply Chain Competence	5.98	0.82	0.14*	0.22**	0.39**	0.34**	–
6. Ln Age	2.57	1.24	−0.04	−0.05	−0.01	−0.04	–0.03	–
7. Ln Size	4.01	2.63	0.22**	0.14*	0.09	0.11	–0.01	0.63**	–
8. Scope	2.71	0.54	0.25**	0.06	0.09	0.12	0.05	0.10	0.29**	–
9. Industry	9.04	4.48	−0.03	−0.06	−0.10	−0.09	0.16*	−0.22**	−0.21**	−0.16**	–

Notes. N = 271; SD = standard deviation; **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05; two-tailed test.

Figure 1. Total, direct and indirect effects of the serial mediation model. Notes. N = 271, ***p < 0.001; **p > 0.01; *p > 0.05.

Table 4. Regression coefficients, standard errors and model summary of the serial multiple mediation model.

	Consequent
		M1 (CC)			M2 (AC)			M3 (DC)			Y (SCC)
Antecedent		Coeff.	p		Coeff.	p		Coeff.	p		Coeff.	p
X (ECO)	a1	0.382 (0.088)	0.000	a2	0.260 (0.073)	0.000	a3	0.193 (0.068)	0.001	c’	−0.031 (0.060)	n.s.
M1 (CC)		__	__	d21	0.412 (0.054)	0.000	d31	0.519 (0.051)	0.000	b1	−0.018 (0.038)	n.s.
M2 (AC)		__	__		__	__		__	__	b2	0.297 (0.057)	0.001
M3 (DC)		__	__		__	__		__	__	b3	0.158 (0.048)	0.040
Constant	iM1	2.908 (0.565)	0.000	iM2	2.349 (0.486)	0.000	iM3	1.654 (0.459)	0.000	iY	4.869 (0.383)	0.000
Ln Age		−0.139 (0.113)	n.s.		0.046 (0.060)	n.s.		−0.008 (0.060)	n.s.		−0.010 (0.043)	n.s.
Ln Size		0.149 (0.050)	n.s.		−0.069 (0.031)	n.s.		−0.026 (0.031)	n.s.		−0.064 (0.024)	n.s.
Scope		−0.080 (0.157)	n.s.		0.010 (0.116)	n.s.		0.040 (0.121)	n.s.		0.012 (0.091)	n.s.
Industry		−0.067 (0.018)	n.s.		−0.066 (0.013)	n.s.		−0.052 (0.015)	n.s.		−0.129 (0.011)	0.039
		R^2 = 0.181			R^2 = 0.317			R^2 = 0.397			R^2 = 0.181
		F(5, 265) = 10.945, p = 0.000			F(6, 264) =14.889, p = 0.000			F(6, 264) =28.005, p = 0.000			F(8, 262) =6.184, p = 0.000

Notes. N = 271. Standardised coefficients. Standard errors in parentheses. 95% confidence interval for all relationships, with 10,000 bootstrap samples. ECO: Business Ecosystem Embeddedness; CC: Connective Capacity; AC: Absorptive capacity; DC: Desorptive Capacity; SCC: Supply Chain Competence. Controls: Ln age, Ln size, scope, sector. M₁: First mediator; M₂: Second mediator; M₃: Third mediator; n.s: non-significant.

Table

Item	Component 1	Component 2	Component 3	Component 4	Component 5	Component 6	Component 7
ECO01				0.564
ECO02				0.857
ECO03				0.720
ECO04				0.622
ECO05				0.526
ECO06						0.695
ECO07						0.675
ECO08						0.704
ECO09							0.560
ECO10							0.548
CC01			0.698
CC02			0.779
CC03			0.852
CC04			0.819
AC01					0.734
AC02					0.677
AC03					0.761
AC04					0.483
DC01		0.581
DC02		0.610
DC03		0.657
DC04		0.768
DC05		0.806
DC06		0.801
DC07		0.504
SCC01	0.681
SCC02	0.682
SCC03	0.816
SCC04	0.745
SCC05	0.837
SCC06	0.514
SCC07	0.725
Variance explained	29.95	12.66	7.86	4.86	4.27	3.96	3.52
Cumulative variance	29.95	42.61	50.47	55.32	59.59	63.55	67.07

Notes. Extraction method: principal component with Kaiser normalisation. Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity: χ² is significant at p < 0.000, 496 df. ECO: Business Ecosystem Embeddedness; CC: Connective Capacity; AC: Absorptive capacity; DC: Desorptive Capacity; SCC: Supply Chain Competence.

Table

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6
1. Business Ecosystem Embeddedness	–
2. Connective Capacity	0.40**	–
3. Absorptive Capacity	0.41**	0.51**	–
4. Desorptive Capacity	0.41**	0.60**	0.65**	–
5. Supply Chain Competence	0.14*	0.22**	0.39**	0.34**	–
6. Marker variable (coopetition)	0.34**	0.12	0.128*	0.12	0.09	–

Notes. N = 271. SD. = standard deviation; **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05; two-tailed test.

Table

Variables	First/early respondents	Last/late respondents	Significance values
Average Business Ecosystem Embeddedness	4.57	4.74	0.421
Average Connective Capacity	4.25	4.38	0.667
Average Absorptive Capacity	5.01	4.85	0.514
Average Desorptive Capacity	4.54	4.80	0.323
Average Supply Chain Competence	5.89	5.89	0.963
Average Ln Age	2.22	2.56	0.177
Average Ln Size	2.79	3.50	0.060
Average Scope	2.57	2.63	0.639
Average Sector	9.41	10.02	0.492

Note. t-Tests results to analyse the differences between the first and last 20% of respondents according to demographic and model variables. The results show no significant differences between early and late respondents, and thus non-response bias is not considered to be a major concern in this study.

Table

Business Ecosystem Embeddedness (newly developed scale based on the literature review of section 3.2.1 Business Ecosystem Embeddedness.)	Please indicate the degree to which each of the following situations is present in the environment where your firm conducts its business (1: Very low degree; 7: Very high degree):
Code	Items
*ECO01	We find a large number of loosely interconnected entities.
ECO02	We find a large number of entities that depend on each other for their mutual effectiveness and survival.
ECO03	We find a large number of entities that depend on each other even if they do not directly interact.
ECO04	We are part of a complex larger community that is structured as several networks of entities (e.g. networks of partners and other organisations).
ECO05	We find different networks, each of them valuable for different purposes (such as access to knowledge, resource exchanges, or for obtaining relevant information).
ECO06	We find critical and potential partners that are valuable for our business success (e.g. suppliers, distributors, outsourcing firms, technology providers, competitors, and a host of other organisations).
*ECO07	We maintain formal or informal relationships with other organisations that fall outside the traditional chain of suppliers, distributors, and customers (e.g. relationships with financing institutions, business associations, universities, research institutes, stakeholders, government agencies, incubators, or even competitors and customers when their actions and feedback affect the development of our products/services).
ECO08	We find room for potential opportunities to create new markets, technologies, or products/services that may not exist today.
ECO09	Our firm and other organisations conduct their business on a larger infrastructure or platform (i.e. clusters, services, tools, or core technologies).
ECO10	We share a similar vision with many of the organisations in our networks about the future of our business environment.
*ECO11	Our goals must sometimes be sacrificed for the greater good of our business environment.
Items ECO01 to ECO05 refer to interdependencies; items ECO06 to ECO08 refer to value potential; and items ECO09 to ECO11refer to shared components.
Connective capacity (newly developed scale)	Please indicate the degree to which your firm demonstrates each of the following abilities (1: Very low degree; 7: Very high degree). Ability to:
Code	Items
CC01	Gain privileged access to external knowledge without directly acquiring or owning it (e.g. through a portfolio of alliances where knowledge is accessible).
CC02	Retain knowledge in inter-firm networks, outside organisational boundaries (i.e. through a portfolio of alliances where knowledge is available).
CC03	Acquire external knowledge retained in inter-firm networks, outside organisational boundaries (i.e., knowledge from previous alliances or portfolios of alliances that the firm can integrate at any time).
CC04	Exploit external knowledge retained in inter-firm networks, outside organisational boundaries (i.e. knowledge from previous alliances or portfolios of alliances that the firm can utilise in its business).
Absorptive Capacity (adapted from Ettlie and Pavlou 2006)	Please indicate the degree to which your firm demonstrates each of the following abilities (1: Very low degree; 7: Very high degree). Ability to:
Code	Items
AC01	Identify, value, and import external knowledge from other entities in the networks.
AC02	Adopt adequate internal routines to analyse the external knowledge from other entities in the networks.
AC03	Successfully integrate new knowledge acquired from other entities in the networks with existing knowledge.
AC04	Successfully exploit newly integrated knowledge in concrete applications (e.g. developing a product using external knowledge).
Desorptive Capacity (adapted and extended to the business ecosystem from Roldán Bravo, Ruiz Moreno, and Llorens-Montes 2016)	Please indicate the degree to which your firm demonstrates each of the following abilities (1: Very low degree; 7: Very high degree). Ability to:
Code	Items
DC01	Identify opportunities to transfer knowledge externally.
DC02	Identify own knowledge from the firm that is relevant to other entities in the networks.
DC03	Identify and select critical partners willing to acquire and exploit the firm’s knowledge.
DC04	Codify and share knowledge effectively with different members in the networks.
DC05	Organise effectively the transfer of knowledge to different members in the networks.
DC06	Support the process of knowledge transfer to the different members in the networks.
DC07	Exploit knowledge externally to appropriate returns from innovation (i.e. through patents or licences).
Supply Chain Competence (adapted from Chow et al. 2008)	Please indicate the degree to which your firm is able to perform the following actions in response to unforeseen circumstances and/or unpredicted and changing market conditions in a timely manner (1: Disagree completely; 7: Agree completely):
Code	Items
SCC01	Respond to requests in a timely manner.
*SCC02	Forecast/predict sales with greater accuracy and increasing precision each time.
SCC03	Fill orders with improved accuracy.
SCC04	Make/(provide) high-quality products/(services).
SCC05	Respond to the needs of key customers effectively.
SCC06	Work with key suppliers effectively.
*SCC07	Issue advanced notice on shipping delays effectively.

Note. *Removed items.

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