Factors affecting supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations – Case in Vietnam

Abstract

The paper aims to estimate factors affecting supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations in Vietnam. To achieve this objective, the study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to define the determinants of supply chain efficiency in operational activities of commercial banks. The findings reveal the statistically significant factors influencing supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ profitability, including information and communication technology, knowledge and information, quality trust, and culture. The research contribution opens an additional aspect into the supply chain in commercial banks’ operations that makes the managers and stakeholders reorient themselves in the banks’ developing operations. Besides, the authors implement SEM applications in testing and evaluating the multivariate causal relationships between supply chain efficiency and banks’ profitability.

Keywords:

• supply chain
• supply chain efficiency
• profitability
• commercial bank
• Vietnam

1. Introduction

In the trend of globalization, competition between businesses has become increasingly, especially commercial banks. A fundamental factor for businesses to compete successfully today is that banks own an efficient supply chain in their operations, because supply chain integrates material, information, and financial exchanges between related partners/businesses. Indeed, supply chain management relates to process flows and the related parties (Caniato et al., 2019). Based on the updated model, supply chain (SC) contains a supplier, a producer, a wholesaler and multiple retailers, and collector (Amjadian & Gharaei, 2021). According to Majumder and Habib (2022), supply chain management shows the integration between an organization’s inside activities and the parties that satisfy the consumers’ demand in the supply chain terms. Thus, both consumers and suppliers have a significant impact on supply processes that originate the supply chain in associated collaboration to achieve a higher shared goal. During the integration organization’s supply chain process, there are some directed considerations in internal factors such as organizational structures, resources, relationships, coordination of related parties, internal communication, operation cost, and production directions (Mukhamedjanova, 2020). In addition, Amjadian and Gharaei (2021); Gharaei et al. (2021) mention about the integration of related parties in supply chain to optimize the inventory cost, especially the number and volume of the stockpiles. These studies focus on related parties in supply chain management, without considering the supply chain efficiency in each organization. Therefore, Kiriinya (2021) conducted supply chain relationship management practices and performance applied for pharmaceutical firms.

According to Majumder and Habib (2022), the supply chain in banking sector has still not taken consideration from many researchers, except for the Magenda (2014)’s study that investigates the determinants of supply chain performance among commercial banks. However, the study has not clarified the inter-relationship between those factors and the profitability of banks through supply chain performance. Indeed, during operations, when optimizing the supply chain, commercial banks will significantly reduce financial costs in business activities while helping to improve flexibility, time efficiency, and service quality, meeting the increasing demands of customers. Supply chain management is associated with almost all activities of banks, such as planning and managing the process of providing related services to customers, coordinating with partners, suppliers, and intermediate channels. Specifically, banks will select enterprises supported by granting credits to their suppliers or distributors. The above relationships show that banks need to further improve supply chain efficiency in their operations to operate effectively. Furthermore, Majumder and Habib (2022) show that supply chain in banking industry is necessary in many aspects especially internal factors. Hence, originating to inheriting from Magenda (2014)’s, this paper takes one step further in highlighting the multivariate relationship between supply chain efficiency and banks’ profitability by using Structural equation modeling (SEM) approach.

This study aims to find out factors that influence supply chain efficiency among Vietnamese commercial banks. In order to achieve this aim, a review of the determinants of supply chain efficiency in Vietnamese commercial banks and an investigation of the relationship between supply chain efficiency and profitability will be conducted. The study attempts to answer the question, “What are the factors affecting supply chain efficiency in Vietnamese commercial banks’ operations?”. Besides, to what extent does supply chain efficiency influences the profitability of those banks in obtaining the latter objective.

Starting with the introduction part, which describes the background of the study, the remaining study is organized as follows. The second section presents the literature review and hypothesis development that determine related definitions and previous studies that aim to hypothesize the development of determinants. Then, the research methodology sets up the samples and research processes in the third part. In the last section, the authors list the research results of factors affecting supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations and give discussions based on the results.

2. Literature review and hypothesis development

Shifting from individual company performance to supply chain performance has become popular in the current market for enhanced competition. Supply chain performance means the entire chain’s ability to match customers’ demands for products and services on time in both quality and quantity. Supply chain performance expresses the strong connection between enterprises in the supply chain system to achieve an ultimate target, to fill customer orders faster and more efficiently than competitors (Gunasekaran et al., 2004).

A supply chain is a network that includes all organizations, enterprises, and service lines that meet customer requirements directly or indirectly. The supply chain has been conceived in the manufacturing industry. Then, it has quickly become widely adopted in many industries to improve productivity and competitiveness in today’s global market. Therefore, the fundamental purpose of a supply chain is to satisfy customers’ needs in order to generate profits for the supply chain system. The supply chain is defined as optimizing financial resources between businesses and the overall assimilation of the approved financial links with suppliers, customers, and service providers to increase all stakeholders’ overall value (Hofmann & Belin, 2011).

We have conducted the assessment from many angles, evaluating the efficiency and optimum of a supply chain. An efficient supply chain still focuses on what happens inside the supply chain system, such as bringing products at the lowest cost. It is also considered how effectively the enterprise works with its partners in the supply chain to expand the production process. With the optimal supply chain, aspects outside the business need to be considered, such as whether customers can receive the right product on time to match their requirements; investors keep track of the increase in revenue compared to expenses; suppliers and business partners look at how businesses solve intractable problems.

Performance measurement is necessary for outcome reflections that affect strategic, tactical, and operational planning and control, so many metrics have been applied in supply chain performance valuation, such as operational performance, effectiveness, and system alignment monitoring of the whole supply chain management (Cuthbertson & Piotrowicz, 2011). There are four criteria: quality, time, cost, and flexibility that are included in each metric of supply chain performance. Then, they are classified, such as quality and quantity, cost and non-cost, operational and supply chain processes (Shepherd & Günter, 2010).

Cai et al. (2009) define the efficiency of the supply chain as the ability to meet the needs of the end customer based on two factors: availability and on-time delivery of the entire supply chain. Therefore, analyzing performance measurement systems and achieving key performance indicator goals are vital for supply chain performance improvement. There are set variables based on the actual supply chain activities that relate to the costs and revenues of the entire system that aim to drive supply chain performance (Stewart, 1995). Supply chain activities or processes include planning, sourcing, manufacturing, and delivery that measure supply chain performance. These activities match at various levels of management, such as strategic, tactical, and operational levels.

Various determinants of supply chain performance contribute to the efficient and effective performance of the supply chain in the organization, namely: information & communication technology (ICT), knowledge and information sharing, trust, culture, and joint decision-making (Hatry, 2006). Regular measurements of a system’s services and programs are essential from a manager’s perspective, especially in the banking systems (Simons, 1990). The supply chain includes the internal linkages among the departments, functions, or business units within the firm that source, make, and deliver products and the external linkages with entities outside the enterprise, including the network of direct suppliers and their suppliers and direct customers and their customers. This significantly contributes to supply chain performance. Therefore, information sharing not only shares information with partners but also provides adequate, timely, and accurate information (Bouckaert, 2004). Information sharing needs to consider the concept of information quality. Information quality includes the accuracy, timeliness, adequacy, and credibility of information exchanged. Senior procurement managers are influential people in procurement processes since their joint planning decisions affect the whole supply chain network (Akintoye et al., 2000). Proper decision-making enhances an efficient and effective supply chain management system through proper administration of the supply chain.

2.1. Information & communication technology

Information and communication technology (ICT) in the supply chain will help units exchange information effectively with partners and customers. The effective exchange of information reduces the time for searching for information in detail or updates on each transaction’s progress in which trading stage on time. For the advanced competition, equipping ICT systems has become a priority for supply chain companies, with enormous benefits. Therefore, overseas supplier partnerships driven by ICT systems enable businesses to achieve high-tech efficiency in their lines.

Barman et al. (2001); Kiprop and Njeru (2015) assert that the integration process includes activities requiring, sharing, and merging strategic knowledge and information with the related parties, including inside or outside the organization. Barney (1991) defines supply chain integration as connecting the different supply chain elements. Supply chain integration includes the internal interconnections among the firm’s divisions, functions, or units that source, make, and deliver products. Besides, it also involves the external linkages between suppliers, customers, and their customers directly. This significantly contributes to supply chain performance (Andraski, 1998). ICT tools support supply chain activities and enhance the performance of the entire supply chain to make it less troublesome (Frohlich & Westbrook, 2001; Jemal, 2022).

Analyzing the potential production capabilities of suppliers allows the enterprise to determine in advance whether a particular production plan is developing new products according to the needs of the supply chain (Cachon, 2003). The more accessible and powerful the technology, the more valuable and powerful information tools influence businesses’ financially successful supply chains (Salecka, 2009).

The rapid development of modern technologies has led to the centralization of strategic planning in the supply chain among all stakeholders (Hong & Jeong, 2006). Applying technology in the supply chain that provides accurate information will help supply chain members share essential information in real-time. That will improve the overall supply chain’s performance where finance comes into play (Vaidya & Kumar, 2006). The best way to ensure a successful supply chain is to adopt the technology and have the infrastructure, so applying the supply chain system in a bank must match with a detailed road map of the development stages of the internal supply chain. This road map will support the retailer’s strategic goals and define the organizational sequence by stage, process, and technological changes required for successful supply chain development (Harps & Hansen, 2000). The ability to develop and maintain standardized processes because of new processes and procedures because of technology adoption is a critical business capability affecting supply chain performance in banks and commercial goods (Lysons & Farrington, 2006). Therefore, embracing information & communication technology (ICT) ensures that the supply chain balances its need to satisfy customer needs and manage costs to attain profits. ICT tools offer an excellent strategy within an organization to achieve strategic customer satisfaction and profitability goals through cost management. Of late, ICT tools have been used to ensure efficient and effective performance of the supply chain (Ambrose et al., 2010).

H1: ICT integration affects bank performance positively.

2.2. Knowledge and information sharing

Bowersox et al. (1999) show that knowledge and information sharing are related to using information technology (IT) and sharing information, including formal and informal information sharing, communicating, and determining customers’ future needs, and participation in sourcing decisions. Bask and Juga (2001); Elgazzar and Elzarka (2017) mention that “information sharing” refers to the extent to which critical and proprietary information is communicated to the firm’s supply chain partners (Enz et al., 2019).

The act of sharing information in the supply chain enables more accurate business operations and faster decision-making, which improves the financial performance of the supply chain (Moberg et al., 2003). Successful sharing of useful information between supply chain partners can reduce inventory and production costs, better understand customer needs, and react faster to market changes (Li et al., 2006).

Furthermore, the three significant components of supply chain management are logistics, information, and finance (Tan, 2002). For the supply chain to be efficient, the flow of information and materials needs to be easy to navigate and ensure customization. Min and Mentzer (2004) point out that sharing information with all partner organizations is necessary to enhance desired supply chain capabilities. Moreover, information exchange is a vital structure that significantly affects the performance of the supply chain.

The sharing of information has become one of the crucial factors in creating value in an organization. According to Koçoğlu et al. (2011); Okore and Kibet (2019), sharing information among the chain members positively impacts the supply chain’s performance. Specifically, information sharing will help financial institutions make better forecasting, ordering, production, and material planning through the values of inventory, demand, and supply displayed. Furthermore, some benefits that come from sharing information are listed as follows: cooperative expansion (Eng, 2006; Koçoğlu et al., 2011), reduced uncertainty/risk when forecasting (Li & Lin, 2006; Zhou & Benton, 2007), faster material flow, higher-order fulfillment, shorter production cycles (Lin et al., 2002), reduced inventory costs (Soosay et al., 2008), and improved customer service (Premus & Sanders, 2008), which significantly contributed to overall cost reductions as well as contributed to improving customer service quality (Li & Lin, 2006).

H2: Knowledge and Information Sharing affect bank performance positively.

2.3. Quality trust

Trust is essential for effective supplier relationship management. A good relationship is built on trust between organizations and supply chain partners. Therefore, organizations should identify their trustworthy suppliers who can be relied upon to supply goods and services on time. Trust is one of the most critical factors in a committed and collaborative relationship between supply chain partners (Ekeme, 2017). If trust is created between the firm and its suppliers, there is a successful supply chain relationship.

Some studies suggest that trust in quality is also a prerequisite for joint ventures (Kwon & Suh, 2004; Monczka et al., 1998; Morton et al., 2006). Trust motivates chain members to collaborate in decision-making and problem-solving (Fawcett et al., 2012). The emergence of trust can improve supply chain success rates.

H3: Quality trust affects bank performance positively.

2.4. Culture

Barney (1991) explains that organizational culture strengthens the relationship between suppliers and the organization since they understand the processes and procedures of delivering goods and services to a customer. Therefore, new suppliers face many difficulties in the supply of goods and services because of specific rules and procedures, while the existing suppliers fully understand the policies and requirements needed to deliver goods and services dealing with their existing customers. However, the culture of banking industries differs from the culture of other organizations (Jemal, 2022).

The cultural similarity is understood as the extent to which supply chain partners share similar values, beliefs, and management practices. Organizational culture facilitates the flow of communication between an organization and business partners by ensuring the continuity of standards (McAfee et al., 2002). Cultural similarities also facilitate inter-organizational cooperation (McIvor & Humphreys, 2004).

H4: Culture affects bank performance positively.

2.5. Joint decision making (have power and make joint decisions)

Biehl et al. (2006) implies that joint decision-making is an important attribute of a more cooperative supply chain relationship that may ultimately result in better performance. Neely (2005) explains that managers should be careful when making joint planning decisions; they should achieve efficiency in their supply chains. Managing a supply chain with several supply chain partners poses a significant challenge to supply chain management, making it difficult to achieve efficiency in supply chains, so management should be vigilant and careful when making joint planning supply chain decisions (Zhang & Zhang, 2007).

A more powerful party is more likely to pressure the less powerful party in the relationship between supply chain members. That creates a power that takes a favor in the more powerful party. Power is defined as the degree of dependence on a particular resource on a partner (Cox, 2001). This has been controversial because dependence is determined by the practicality and scarcity of resources associated with them caused by each party in an exchange relationship. In a supply chain relationship, power can also be interpreted as “the ability of one party to influence the intentions and actions of another party” (Emerson, 1962). Power is likewise explained as “The ability of one chain member to influence the behavior and decisions of other members” (Yeung et al., 2009).

H5: Joint Decision-making affects the profitability positively.

2.6. Supply chain performance and profitability

Efficient supply chain systems play a pivotal role in enhancing the supply chain function, which helps the organization gain value for goods and services delivered to customers. This builds a positive image and trust in the firm’s products, increasing sales and profitability. With an efficient supply chain system, the firm can save stock-out costs-these increase the firm’s cost savings and profitability (Jemal, 2022).

Integration is an important component in achieving the supply chain performance of an organization. A firm that invests in modern technologies can save communication costs with the supplier and enable the firm to improve its level of profitability. Efficient supply chain systems increase the speed of delivery of goods and services to the ultimate consumer, improving a firm’s sales and increasing profits (Simpson et al., 1999). Furthermore, Anggraini et al., (2018); Etale et al., (2016); Kiriinya, (2021) prove that effective supply chain enhances banking profitability because of the increase in market share (through deposits and loans) and their performance outcomes.

H6: supply chain efficiency affects profitability positively.

3. Research method

3.1. Sample

Information reliability depends on sample size. As sample size increases, information reliability also increases. In general, the larger the sample the better research performance. However, the optimal size is not clearly defined. According to (Hair et al., 2017), structural equation modelling (SEM) requires relatively large sample sizes for robust estimates. As a rule of thumb, researchers suggested relatively large sample sizes (N > 200) for SEM (Hair et al., 2017). Besides, Kline (2015) suggests that it is more helpful to think in terms of the number of respondents per estimated parameter. These authors suggest a minimum of at least five respondents for each estimated parameter, with a ratio of 10 respondents per parameter considered as most appropriate.

In this study, the total number of observed variables was 24; thus, according to (Hair et al., 2017), the minimum sample size for this study should be 24 × 5 = 120. The information collection process was conducted from December 2020 to July 2021. A questionnaire was distributed to 330 supply chain managers and executive officers taking the responsibilities in supply chain departments at 35 commercial banks (4 state-owned commercial banks and 31 joint-stock commercial banks). The number of collected valid questionnaires was 300, accounting for 90.9% of the total number of distributed questionnaires (Table 1). Sample size satisfies the requirement for SEM analysis, as SEM requires a relatively large sample size to obtain robust estimates.

Table 1. Survey results

Criteria	Number of survey questionnaires	Percentage
Number of forms distributed	330	100%
Number of forms collected	309	93.63%
Number of valid forms	300	90.9%

In order to implement the survey, all items in this study are designed with a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree).

3.2. Proposed model

Based on the analysis of literature review and related previous studies, the research model was proposed as follows in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Proposed model.

3.3. Methodology

The research process to determine the Factors affecting supply chain efficiency in Vietnamese commercial banks’ operations is as follows. Firstly, SPSS 20 was used for the descriptive statistics. Secondly, AMOS was employed to examine the proposed model. AMOS is a statistical tool for conducting confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM; Kroehne et al., 2003).

According to (Hair et al., 2017), such indices include the GOF index (GFI), adjusted GFI (AGFI), comparative fit index (CFI), and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), which must satisfy various conditions for a good model fit. Specifically, the GFI should be close to 0.90, the AGFI should be more than 0.80, the CFI should be more than 0.9, the RMSR should be less than 0.05, and the RMSEA should be less than 0.10 (Hair et al., 2017).

4. Research results and discussions

4.1. Research results

4.1.1. Descriptive statistics

Table 2 shows the demographic information of 300 respondents. The statistics in Table 2 shows that 153 customers are female (accounting for 51%), and the rest are male. The number of customers aged from 23 to 35 accounted for the highest proportion with 69%; followed by 18% of the group from 36 to 55 years old and 10% of the group from 18 to 22 years old. The lowest proportion falls into the age group of over 55 years old which is 3%.

Table 2. Demographic information of respondents

Index	Frequency	Percentage (%)
(1)Gender
Female	153	51
Male	147	49
Total	300	100
(2)Age
18–22	31	10%
23–35	207	69%
36–55	53	18%
Over 55	9	3%
Total	300	100%

4.1.2. Reliability of measures

First, measuring with Cronbach’s coefficient alpha.

Table 3 summarises the scales of factors. From testing the scales through Cronbach’s alpha, the scales in Table 3 achieved reliability based on the principle of evaluating the total Cronbach’s alpha coefficient; the correlation coefficient of the total variable and the coefficient “Cronbach’s Alpha if Item Deleted” satisfy the requirements (Nguyen, 2011). Therefore, the scales are all reliable. Second, evaluating the statistical evidence of validity with EFA.

Table 3. Summary of scales

No.	Construct	Number of observations	Cronbach’s alpha	Evaluate
1	Information & Communication Technology (ICT)	5	0,942	Satisfactory
2	Knowledge and information sharing (CSTT)	3	0,971	Satisfactory
3	Quality trust (TT)	4	0,957	Satisfactory
4	Culture (VH)	3	0,974	Satisfactory
5	Joint Decision making (QD)	5	0,939	Satisfactory
6	Supply chain performance (HSC)	4	0,911	Satisfactory
7	Profitability (LN)	4	0,885	Satisfactory

The results of the Bartlett test are presented in Table 4. Sig. value equals 0.000 which allows us to reject the hypothesis “The variables are not correlated with each other in the population” and the KMO index (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) = 0.903 > 0.5, so we can use the analytical method factor for data analysis.

Table 4. KMO and Bartlett’s test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy.		.903
Bartlett’s test of sphericity	Approx. chi-square	9177.929
	df	378
	Sig.	.000

The following section presents the results involving the total variance explained and the rotated component matrix table. The total variance explained by 28 factors is indicated in Table 5. Only the first seven factors, which account for 83.612% of the total variance, are important. This figure exceeds the acceptable threshold for forming new factors (50%). The variables can be organized by four-group factors by assessing the sample matrix. Besides, the rotated component matrix (Table 6) shows that 28 observed variables are classified into seven factors; all observed variables have factor loading coefficients greater than 0.5; there are no poor loadings. Hence, the criteria of exploratory factor analysis are satisfied

Table 5. Total variance explained

Component	Initial eigenvalues			Extraction sums of squared loadings			Rotation sums of squared loadings
	Total	% of variance	Cumulative %	Total	% of variance	Cumulative %	Total	% of variance	Cumulative %
1	12.706	45.378	45.378	12.706	45.378	45.378	4.027	14.382	14.382
2	2.718	9.706	55.085	2.718	9.706	55.085	3.857	13.775	28.157
3	2.182	7.791	62.876	2.182	7.791	62.876	3.441	12.289	40.446
4	1.764	6.302	69.178	1.764	6.302	69.178	3.158	11.278	51.724
5	1.577	5.632	74.810	1.577	5.632	74.810	3.133	11.189	62.914
6	1.393	4.974	79.784	1.393	4.974	79.784	2.925	10.446	73.360
7	1.072	3.828	83.612	1.072	3.828	83.612	2.870	10.252	83.612
8	.558	1.991	85.603
9	.470	1.678	87.281
10	.421	1.504	88.785
11	.400	1.429	90.213
12	.320	1.142	91.356
13	.290	1.035	92.391
14	.281	1.005	93.395
15	.264	.943	94.338
16	.243	.869	95.206
17	.231	.826	96.032
18	.193	.689	96.721
19	.165	.588	97.309
20	.153	.547	97.856
21	.132	.472	98.328
22	.102	.363	98.691
23	.077	.274	98.965
24	.075	.266	99.231
25	.062	.223	99.454
26	.059	.211	99.666
27	.053	.191	99.856
28	.040	.144	100.000
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Table 6. Rotated component matrix^a

	Component
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
ICT4	.856
ICT3	.812
ICT5	.805
ICT2	.799
ICT1	.747
QD3		.802
QD2		.790
QD1		.765
QD4		.751
QD5		.738
TT4			.841
TT1			.818
TT3			.801
TT2			.779
HSC3				.806
HSC2				.792
HSC1				.769
HSC4				.764
LN2					.830
LN3					.778
LN1					.766
LN4					.715
CSTT1						.925
CSTT2						.924
CSTT3						.913
VH2							.905
VH3							.901
VH1							.893

Notes: Extraction method: principal component analysis.

Rotation method: Varimax with Kaiser normalization.

a. Rotation converged in 6 iterations.

The results from the Rotated Component Matrix (Table 6) show that the original research model will be adjusted to a 7-factor model.

4.1.3. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)

In Figure 2, to assess the overall model fit without the sample size’ sensitive impact, GOF index (GFI), adjusted GFI (AGFI), comparative fit index (CFI), and the root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) are applied to create a good model’s fit (Hair et al., 2017). The GOF values (χ2 = 1016.643, p < 0.000, df = 329, χ2/df = 3.090, TLI = 0.913, CFI = 0.925, RMSEA = 0.084) indicated that the structural model fit the data well.

Figure 2. Results of model fit assessment through CFA.

Carmines and McIver (1981) stated that the relative chi-square of an acceptable model should be within the range of 2:1 or 3:1. However, Kline (2015) argues that 3 or less is acceptable. Some researchers accepted a value as high as 5 to consider a model adequately fit (Schumacker & Whittaker, 2022). Besides, according to Hair et al. (2017), the RMSEA should be less than 0.10. The results showed that the chi-square/df = 3.090 ≤ 3, and the RMSEA = 0.084 < 0.1. Thus, the model was suitable.

4.1.4. Results of structural model

After having the results of checking the fit of the entire model, the authors run SEM of the entire model. Thus, the model presented for analysis is completely satisfied. The results are as follows (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Hypothesis testing.

* Hypothesis testing: After the model is tested to be suitable, the results of hypothesis testing are shown in tables of Regression Weights and Standardized Regression Weights.

+ Chi-Square/df = 3.513 ≤ 5;

+ GFI = 0,763; TLI = 0,896; CFI = 0,906; RMSEA = 0,092 < 0,1.

Table 7 shows that:

Table 7. Regression weights

					Estimate	S.E.		C.R.		P			Label
HSC	<—		ICT		.150	.032		4.651		***
HSC	<—		CSTT		.082	.025		3.224		.001
HSC	<—		VH		.092	.024		3.876		***
HSC	<—		QD		.068	.028		2.401		.016
HSC	<—		TT		.193	.029		6.693		***
LN	<—		HSC		.856	.124		6.902		***
ICT4	<—		ICT		1.000
ICT3	<—		ICT		.893	.050		17.999		***
ICT5	<—		ICT		.966	.050		19.407		***
ICT2	<—		ICT		.913	.047		19.269		***
ICT1	<—		ICT		.917	.047		19.308		***
QD3	<—		QD		1.000
QD2	<—		QD		.866	.043		20.336		***
QD1	<—		QD		.806	.046		17.637		***
QD4	<—		QD		.934	.039		23.828		***
QD5	<—		QD		.887	.042		20.892		***
TT4	<—		TT		1.000
TT1	<—		TT		.991	.028		34.950		***
TT3	<—		TT		.868	.033		26.696		***
TT2	<—		TT		.887	.032		27.510		***
HSC3	<—		HSC		1.000
HSC2	<—		HSC		1.060	.069		15.431		***
HSC1	<—		HSC		1.552	.115		13.470		***
HSC4	<—		HSC		1.551	.116		13.421		***
LN2	<—		LN		1.000
LN3	<—		LN		.878	.055		15.965		***
LN1	<—		LN		.805	.055		14.595		***
LN4	<—		LN		.831	.053		15.687		***
CSTT1	<—		CSTT		1.000
CSTT2	<—		CSTT		1.028	.025		41.508		***
CSTT3	<—		CSTT		.993	.024		40.671		***
VH2	<—		VH		1.000
VH3	<—		VH		.959	.020		47.573		***
VH1	<—		VH		.989	.025		39.302		***

- Information & Communication Technology affects supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations positively because p-value equals to 0.000 and smaller than 5%.

- Knowledge and information sharing affects supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations positively because p-value equals to 0.001 and smaller than 5%.

- Quality trust affects supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations positively because p-value equals to 0.000 and smaller than 5%.

- Culture affects supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations positively because p-value equals to 0.000 and smaller than 5%.

- Joint Decision-making affects supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations positively because p-value equals to 0.016 and smaller than 5%.

* The degree of impact of the independent variables on the dependent variable:

According to the table of Standardized Regression Weights (Table 8):

Table 8. Standardized regression weights

			Estimate
HSC	<—	ICT	.263
HSC	<—	CSTT	.172
HSC	<—	VH	.208
HSC	<—	QD	.129
HSC	<—	TT	.393
LN	<—	HSC	.463
ICT4	<—	ICT	.886
ICT3	<—	ICT	.806
ICT5	<—	ICT	.840
ICT2	<—	ICT	.837
ICT1	<—	ICT	.837
QD3	<—	QD	.947
QD2	<—	QD	.814
QD1	<—	QD	.759
QD4	<—	QD	.869
QD5	<—	QD	.824
TT4	<—	TT	.945
TT1	<—	TT	.955
TT3	<—	TT	.886
TT2	<—	TT	.895
HSC3	<—	HSC	.667
HSC2	<—	HSC	.636
HSC1	<—	HSC	.919
HSC4	<—	HSC	.909
LN2	<—	LN	.872
LN3	<—	LN	.796
LN1	<—	LN	.746
LN4	<—	LN	.786
CSTT1	<—	CSTT	.972
CSTT2	<—	CSTT	.954
CSTT3	<—	CSTT	.951
VH2	<—	VH	.969
VH3	<—	VH	.975
VH1	<—	VH	.946

- Information & Communication Technology affects supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations with an estimated impact of 0.263.

- Knowledge and information sharing affects supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations with an estimated impact of 0.172.

- Quality trust affects supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations with an estimated impact of 0.393.

- Culture affects supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations with an estimated impact of 0.208.

- Joint Decision-making affects supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations with an estimated impact of 0.129.

- Supply chain efficiency has a positive impact on profitability of commercial banks with an estimated impact of 0.463.

4.2. Discussions

From the above findings, for commercial banks to achieve better performance through effective management of their supply chains, they need to increase the sharing of information and knowledge throughout their supply chains. In order to create favorable conditions for close linkage among members in the chains, management information systems need to be built and used effectively. Production and operation information must be updated regularly and continuously, ensuring timely information is provided to managers, partners (suppliers, customers), and responsible employees’ related responsibilities and support for employees in the enterprise and partners with effective communication channels. An effective information system with accurate and timely internal communication channels will help the banks quickly exchange information between departments. In parallel with creating the information system in the banks, the construction of information and communication technology infrastructure needs to be built to ensure the best service for customers and solve problems based on mutual trust, which aims for sustainable development.

In addition, in their supply chain operations, commercial banks need to form a “shared culture” in their businesses, build an online learning library so that departments can share experiences, how to handle their department’s problems for all employees, and each employee himself can gain experience through the lessons of his predecessors. Hence, the paper recommends some suggestions for better supply chain efficiency as follows.

- Commercial banks need to encourage integration within and between departments within the unit, helping information be conveyed in a timely and accurate manner, improving business efficiency in the entire banking system.

- Building close relationships based on mutual trust with partners, creating and sharing values.

- Develop a reliable and robust information technology infrastructure.

- Building a culture of sharing in the bank.

- Share helpful information about capacity and market forecasts with critical partners.

- Make timely decisions in the organization and implementation of the supply chain effectively.

Therefore, with the research objectives set out initially, after carrying out the actual verification at the commercial banks in Vietnam, this study contributes to affirming the positive relationship between the following factors: information and communication technology, knowledge and information sharing, quality trust, culture, joint decision-making, and supply chain efficiency in commercial banks’ operations.

5. Managerial implications

Supply chains have been investigated on manufacturing by the early studies such as Barad and Nof (1997), Parker and Wirth (1999), and Sethi and Sethi (1990). Recently, the updated studies of supply chain management to point out the relationship between customer and supplier aiming to show the efficiency of supply chain (Merschmann & Thonemann, 2011; Sánchez & Pérez, 2005).

The performance has presented another core theme in this study, with results pointing to the importance of supply chain efficiency to improve firm performance (Onkal, 2011). Hence, based on the finding, the authors recognize that Vietnamese commercial banks will gain a number of benefits in improving their performance by considering and focusing on factors that improve supply chain efficiency, such as Information & Communication Technology, Knowledge and information sharing, Quality trust, Culture, and Joint Decision-making. As a result, the supply chain process can be optimized by lowering costs and boost the productivity.

To generate competitive advantage for commercial banks, Vietnam State bank focuses on promulgating regulations on mechanisms to control macro-monetary and financial policies in order to orient commercial banks toward applying the traditional supply chain model to the banking sector, a service area. Concretely, they can promote the policies on the information quality and information disclosure associated with deposits and loans. It is necessary to continue to improve and share information from the Credit Information Centre (CIC) more effectively to serve the use of information by credit institutions in assessing customers in a timely and useful manner.

Regarding banks’ managers, they place significant concentration on building a corporate culture and information sharing to ensure standards and procedures are enforced and synchronized between banks. They create plans for personnel training to enhance the supply of financial services to customers and obtain a large target market. Managers should also consider investing in and updating modern technology to encourage information sharing among banks, branches, and departments while maintaining confidentiality. At the same time, the information disclosed must be of high quality and reliable. Departments in the banks need to have close coordination in sharing, updating, and controlling customer information and, especially, in recognizing and predicting customer needs to make the supply chain process more efficiently.

Applying as a traditional supply chain, commercial banks in Vietnam can employ a wide range of both supply- and demand-side strategies to improve the bank–customer relationship. By building the network from banks to customers and other parties, customers can benefit from the best services from the banks, such as fees, information, and quality. Besides, value and potential customers will be discovered and identified with their needs by developing financial services as per their requirements with their ultimate satisfaction.

6. Conclusions and limitations

The supply chain is a new method that commercial banks need to apply in order to reduce costs and increase efficiency. In Vietnam, supply chains have appeared, but they have not yet created large opportunities for the development of enterprises. A company needs performance measures or “metrics” to achieve supply chain performance improvements. Performance measures must show not only how well an institution meets the needs of its customers (service metrics) but also how it handles its customers in terms of quality and efficiency to add customer value for goods and services.

There are various determinants of supply chain performance that contribute to efficient and effective performance of supply chain in the organization namely ICT, knowledge and information sharing, trust, culture and joint decision-making (Hatry, 2006). Regular measurements of a system’s services and programs are important from a manager’s perspective especially in the banking systems. This is because he or she is looking to measure progress towards managing for results, which is a customer-oriented progress that focuses on maximizing benefits and minimizing the negative consequences of service programs.

Supply chain integration includes the internal linkages among the departments, functions, or business units within the firm that source, make, and deliver products and the external linkages with entities outside the enterprise including the network of direct suppliers and their suppliers and direct customers and their customers; this significantly contributes to supply chain performance. Information sharing does not only share information with partners but also provides adequate, timely, and accurate information. In commercial banking system, service packages to support customers are often understood as credit loans with strict conditions. However, until now, credit has hardly grown, forcing banks to specialize more in their products if they want to maintain growth momentum. As a solution to this problem, a number of credit institutions in Vietnam have strongly deployed closed-chain financing solution packages from distributors, agents to suppliers, and suppliers of many large enterprises. Famous brands and distribution channels are spread on a large scale throughout the territory of Vietnam.

The results of testing the theoretical model show that there is a close relationship between information sharing and knowledge; the level of information and communication technology responsiveness; quality confidence; culture, decisions, and the impact of these factors on supply chain performance in commercial banks are positive (with the regression coefficients of the variables being positive).

Right Supply Chain Performance Measurement is vital for effectiveness and sustenance of supply chain. Companies need a structured method or framework to audit existing performance measurement systems (Medori and Steeple, 2000). Managing the variance in a supply chain system may be more important to an organization’s financial performance than managing average (Christensen, 2007).

Although the study has obtained some findings, there are still several limitations. First, the research has completed the survey with some respondents who are working in Ho Chi Minh City with a small sample. In addition, the research period is in a specific time as COVID-19 pandemic, so the study just is a proxy for the specific time or a small section in a country like Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Hence, the next future research needs to be concerned about the research scope such as a larger sample, entire of country and compare between pandemic, crisis, or normal conditions from external factors.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Kim Quoc Trung Nguyen

Kim Quoc Trung Nguyen and Trung is currently a lecturer of the Faculty of Accounting - Auditing; the University of Finance – Marketing, Vietnam. He is interested in researching the banking sector and finance and accounting.

His fields of research and teaching are banking, finance, and governance. He has written a total of some articles in various international journals and conferences, including International Journal of Economics and Finance Studies, Cogent Business & Management, and has served as a reviewer of some international journals listed in Scopus, such as Cogent Economics and Finance.

Hang Minh Nguyen is currently a lecturer of the Faculty of Accounting - Auditing; the University of Finance – Marketing, Vietnam. Her major is financial accounting. She has written a total of some articles in various international journals and conferences, including International Journal of Economics and Finance Studies.

Hang Minh Nguyen

Kim Quoc Trung Nguyen and Trung is currently a lecturer of the Faculty of Accounting - Auditing; the University of Finance – Marketing, Vietnam. He is interested in researching the banking sector and finance and accounting.

His fields of research and teaching are banking, finance, and governance. He has written a total of some articles in various international journals and conferences, including International Journal of Economics and Finance Studies, Cogent Business & Management, and has served as a reviewer of some international journals listed in Scopus, such as Cogent Economics and Finance.

Hang Minh Nguyen is currently a lecturer of the Faculty of Accounting - Auditing; the University of Finance – Marketing, Vietnam. Her major is financial accounting. She has written a total of some articles in various international journals and conferences, including International Journal of Economics and Finance Studies.

QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

Table

No.	Observable variable	Code	Source
Information & Communication Technology
1	There is a system to arrange work and perform automated transactions effectively in the supply chain organization.	ICT1	Lysons and Farrington (2006)
2	Information exchange between suppliers and commercial banks in the supply chain is timely.	ICT2	Harps and Hansen (2000)
3	An appropriate information and communication technology system in the supply chain helps commercial banks operate more smoothly.	ICT3	Lysons and Farrington (2006)
4	Confidentiality will be maintained	ICT4	Harps and Hansen (2000)
5	The sources of information are accurate between suppliers and commercial banks	ICT5	Harps and Hansen (2000), Hong and Jeong (2006)
Knowledge and information sharing
1	Sharing information between suppliers and commercial banks	CSTT1	Min and Mentzer (2004)
2	Sharing information between inter-departments in commercial banks.	CSTT2	Min and Mentzer (2004)
3	Sharing knowledge and values within commercial banks.	CSTT3	Min and Mentzer (2004)
Quality trust
1	Quality trust motivates joiners (suppliers and commercial banks) in supply chain to work together better.	TT1	Moberg et al. (2003), Fawcett et al. (2012)
2	Joining the supply chain creates the quality trust of services provided by banks.	TT2	Fawcett et al. (2012), Hofmann and Belin (2011)
3	Supply chain success rates can be improved thanks to the trust of supply chain members.	TT3	Hofmann and Belin (2011)
4	The quality trust will create close cooperation among stakeholders in improving the operational efficiency of the supply chain of commercial banks.	TT4	Hofmann and Belin (2011)
Culture
1	Culture facilitates the flow of communication within an organization about the performance of commercial banks.	VH1	Melvor and Humphreys (2002)
2	The culture makes it easier for business partners by ensuring the continuity of the standards set by the bank.	VH2	Melvor and Humphreys (2002)
3	Cultural similarities also facilitate inter-organizational cooperation with commercial banks.	VH3	Melvor and Humphreys (2002)
Joint Decision making
1	There is an involvement of suppliers into decisions	QD1	Moberg et al. (2003), Yeung et al. (2009)
2	Suppliers and commercial banks collaborate in decision making and problem solving.	QD2	Moberg et al. (2003)
3	Avoid the situation of stock-out	QD3	Moberg et al. (2003)
4	Timely decisions create efficiency for all parties in the supply chain.	QD4	Moberg et al. (2003), Yeung et al. (2009)
5	Decisions that directly affect organizational performance improvement are related to supply chain performance in the operations of commercial banks.	QD5	Moberg et al. (2003)
Supply chain performance
1	Low operating costs during the operation of commercial banks.	HSC1	Fantazy, Kumar and Kumar (2010)
2	Accurately execute records, transactions in the chain securely.	HSC2	Fantazy, Kumar and Kumar (2010)
3	Faster supply chain response times, banks’ willingness to pay.	HSC3	Fantazy, Kumar and Kumar (2010)
4	There are products and services to meet the needs of customers in a timely manner.	HSC4	Fantazy, Kumar and Kumar (2010)
Profitability
1	Ability to achieve expected profitability	LN1	Mungai (2014)
2	There is added value on products and services provided by commercial banks.	LN2	Li and Lin (2006)
3	The supply chain in commercial banks’ activities helps suppliers and commercial banks keep track of the increase in revenue compared to expenses.	LN3	Li and Lin (2006)
4	Supply chain brings products and services at the lowest cost, creating the highest profit.	LN4	Li and Lin (2006)Mungai (2014)