اثر سازگاری درون سازمانی بر قابلیت های زنجیره تامین : بررسی نقش واسطه ای ادغام سیستم های اطلاعاتی درون سازمانی (IOIS)

Growing globalization and environmental uncertainty have increased the challenges managers face in delivering services or products to the customer. Integration of information systems across partnering organizations has become the backbone of supply chain management, as amalgamation facilitates the sharing of information required to enhance organizational flexibility and responsiveness while minimizing risk and inventory costs. Using data from the Australian retailing sectors, this study investigates the mediating role of inter-organizational information system (IOIS) integration on the relationships between inter-organizational compatibility and supply chain capabilities. The results indicate that inter-organizational compatibility of technical, strategic, and cultural inter-organizational dimensions facilitate IOIS integration and supply chain capabilities. To maximize benefits for all chain members, IOIS integration needs to be embedded in the strategies and goals of partnering organizations. Business-to-business and industrial marketing managers need to be aware that IOIS integration processes require support of top managers of the partnering organizations and should be embedded in the organizations' strategic goals.

Growing globalization, market dynamism, and environmental uncertainty have increased the challenges that managers face in delivering the right service or product to the customer, at the right time, in the right quantities and condition, and at lowest delivered cost (Li & Lin, 2006). Dynamic environments require managers to create new value propositions that use relationship-driven customer agreements (Badii & Sharif, 2003), and in managing business-to-business relationships. Information and computer technology has emerged as a crucial tool in managing business-to-business relationships (Pereira, 2009 and Thomas and Griffin, 1996), and integration of information systems across partnering organizations has become the backbone of supply chain management as it facilitates information sharing, thereby enhancing organizational flexibility and responsiveness while minimizing risk and inventory costs (Hartono et al., 2010, Krause et al., 2007 and Vickery et al., 2003). Inter-organizational information systems (IOIS) comprise boundary-spanning technologies and value-added networks that link suppliers and buyers (Craighead, Patterson, Roth, & Segars, 2006). IOIS can include value-added network-based electronic data interchange (EDI), Internet-based EDI, extranets, electronic exchange in supply chain management, and other decision support systems that use a common technology under a single ownership (Lyytinen & Damsgaard, 2011). Therefore, an IOIS can comprise two or more autonomous organizations that share information and communication technology built around shared or common IT capabilities that facilitate the creation, storage, transformation, and transmission of information across organizational boundaries (Johnston & Vitale, 1988). However, because of their boundary-spanning properties, IOIS are inherently complex, as these systems involve multiple partners with diverse interests, cultures, and strategic intentions (Ireland & Webb, 2006), and as a result, their implementation can be problematic, as it requires significant effort to redefine and extend the boundaries of the participating organizations (Kim, Ryoo, & Jung, 2011). Consequently, inter-organizational compatibility is a key ingredient of IOIS integration (Waarts, van Everdingen, & van Hillegersberg, 2002). Within these boundary-spanning networks, effective integration requires business partners to be highly embedded operationally, technically, and strategically (Hult, Ketchen, & Slater, 2004). Prior investigations in business-to-business and industrial marketing suggest the need for inter-organizational compatibility and congruency between partnering organizations to ensure the effective flow of financial and physical information across the supply chain (Claycomb et al., 2005 and Sarkar et al., 2001). Research also highlights the positive effects of IOIS on individual organizations as well as the supply chain (Cachon and Fisher, 2000 and Li and Lin, 2006). For example, information-sharing through IOIS enables organizations to identify and communicate consumer requirements across the supply chain (Soliman & Janz, 2004), thereby enhancing responsiveness and delivering products that meet specified customer and buyer configurations (Li & Lin, 2006). Further, effective integration of IOIS across the supply chain facilitates access to timely and accurate information that is necessary for collaborative planning and forecasting, production scheduling, and synchronization of orders (Attaran and Attaran, 2007 and Pereira, 2009). Thus, IOIS integration is crucial in managing risk and uncertainty (Glickman & White, 2006) and enables organizations to maintain information integrity across the supply chain (Levy, Bessant, Sang, & Lamming, 1995). While many organizations invested heavily in information systems in anticipation of significant improvements in information-sharing capabilities, data security, inter-organizational relationships, and supply chain processes (Weber & Kantamneni, 2002), most have failed to reap the anticipated benefits (Li and Williams, 1999 and Widdifield and Grover, 1995). Despite the espoused benefits of IOIS integration, recent literature indicates that the adoption rate of IOIS has been low, and in some cases, organizations have even abandoned IOIS integration processes (Rodon, Sese, & Christiaanse, 2011). Additionally, the benefits of IOIS integration may not be equitably distributed throughout the supply chain (Lee et al., 2000 and Wakolbinger and Cruz, 2011), owing to inequitable allocation of cost and resources (Griffith & Harvey, 2006). These findings have sparked interest in how industrial managers can successfully and effectively integrate IOIS to enhance organizational performance and maximize benefits for all chain members. Some researchers suggest that organizations can only attain significant benefits from IOIS integration if the information technology is embedded in the partnering organizations through resource complementarity and co-specialization (Poon and Swatman, 1999 and Wu et al., 2006).

Table 2 provides a profile of the key respondents and organizations that participated in the study. Respondents were primarily from branches of large supermarket and hardware retailing chains (45% and 36%, respectively), and 72% were male. Most respondents (87.8%) had a tertiary education and substantial experience.The empirical results support the direct effect of technical, strategic, and cultural compatibility on IOIS integration and the indirect effect of technical and strategic compatibility on supply chain capabilities through IOIS integration. The positive and significant influence of technical compatibility on IOIS integration indicates that integrating IOIS among supply chain partners is a technical and technologically oriented issue and that the process is often driven by compatibility in software, hardware, operating systems, and networking systems. Notably, organizations that used advanced information systems such as electronic data interchange, were hesitant to integrate information systems with the organizations that used traditional XML-based Internet and basic information systems. This hesitation may arise from the threat of information transformation insecurity, which is a common problem of IOIS integration (Ngai & Gunasekaran, 2004). In support of previous research (Li & Williams, 1999), this study identified technical incompatibility to be a barrier to IOIS integration among supply chain partners. Concurrent with congruence theory, the results imply that technical resources of organizations in business-to-business partnerships need to mirror each other completely to achieve integration and superior supply chain capabilities. The results accord with the integration problems faced by Whirlpool. In 1999, Whirlpool installed a home-grown supply chain system that was not well integrated with the company's SAP enterprise requirement planning, production scheduling, and major wholesale customer information systems, and that resulted in logistics and distribution failure (Collett, 1999). In contrast, Nikon realized significant supply chain advantages by integrating information technologies with the USPS distribution systems (Roger, 2007). The significant relationship between cultural compatibility and IOIS integration supports previous findings that emphasize the importance of organizational culture and shared values in successful business-to-business relationships (Schraeder & Self, 2003). In line with corporate culture literature (Samaddar et al., 2006), the results suggest that cultural compatibility is required to facilitate not only supply chain capabilities but also IOIS integration. Therefore, to create favorable conditions for integration, partnering organizations need to encourage trust and commitment by sharing crucial information and resources with supply chain partners. Such favorable conditions can emerge if partnering organizations hold similar values, norms, and beliefs. Supporting congruence theory, the results indicate that congruency in key values and norms among organizations facilitate not only inter-organizational relationships and alliance formation, but also IOIS integration. The results of this study also suggest that strategic compatibility is an antecedent to IOIS integration. These results accord with congruence theory and business-to-business literature arguing that shared goals, objectives, and business strategies of partnering organizations facilitate the integration processes (Angeles and Nath, 2001 and Samaddar et al., 2006). For example, Metcash shares similar goals and objectives and agrees on transfer of sales, demand, and strategic information on a day-to-day basis. It also integrates processes with independent grocers and provides support for information systems application and promotion activities (Metcash Annual Report, 2010). Thus, technical, strategic, and cultural compatibility issues persuade supply chain partners to focus on enhancing inter-organizational compatibility when integrating IOIS with other supply chain partners. The integrated IOIS facilitates exchange of consistent information throughout the supply chain and improves just-in-time delivery and responsiveness to consumer requirements in a dynamic consumer market. These results are similar to Kim et al.'s (2006) findings that found supply chain communication systems to facilitate channel capabilities and performance. Thus, IOIS integration helps business partners to share consumer and competitor information with supply chain partners. In line with the RBV framework and dynamic capability theory, the study suggests that sharing immobile, inimitable technical, strategic, and cultural resources across the supply chain builds capabilities and can lead to superior competitive advantages. A plausible conclusion is that the effective and efficient leveraging and coordination of information and resources achieved through IOIS integration reduces warehousing and on-shelf inventory and facilitates product traceability and supply chain flexibility. Reduction of logistics costs and inventory, shortening of lead times and time to respond to customer requests, and improvement in ordering and delivery processes are the other supply chain competitive advantages that can be achieved through IOIS integration and the sharing of strategic information resources and capabilities. While the direct effect results do not support the influence of technical compatibility on supply chain capabilities, the total effects support the possible influence and show the full mediation effects of IOIS integration on the link between inter-organizational compatibility and supply chain capabilities. Even when organizations use advanced information systems that are congruent with a supply chain partner's, IOIS integration is still a requirement to maximize supply chain benefits. As a mediator, IOIS integration helps to explain why many organizations that have invested heavily in advanced information systems and technologies have failed to fully realize the benefits of these investments. Thus, a further conclusion is that failure to effectively integrate IOIS across a supply chain impedes the supply chain capabilities. Interestingly, IOIS integration also increases the effect of strategic compatibility on supply chain capabilities. In accordance with goal congruence theory, this investigation stresses the requirement that congruent goals and objectives among partnering organizations achieve alliances and integration. However, the realization of supply chain capabilities and competitive advantage depends on the type and content of organizational goals and objectives. For example, incompatible goals and objectives of book publishers and manufacturers and Amazon.com create sales and marketing problems and affect supply chain relationships. The manufacturers' objective of selling as much of their product as possible through Amazon and Amazon's objective of selling as much merchandise as possible through the profitable manufacturers create compatibility problems and affect supply chain capabilities and performance (Rosenbloom, 2003). Hence, if every partnering organization has maximizing profit as a primary goal, a possibility exists that such a goal would encourage opportunistic behavior, hinder IOIS integration, and retard supply chain relationships. Manufacturers at times make huge investments to streamline the supply chain. As a result they may design ways of capturing the added value so as to repay themselves for their investments or capture value.2 This issue was well articulated by one of the retailing managers interviewed in this study. The manager stated, “Strategically, I am compatible with my suppliers, but their intention of maximizing marketing margin affects our relationships and integration in some situations”. The direct and indirect effects of cultural compatibility on supply chain capabilities support previous findings that indicate that corporate culture compatibility is crucial for achieving supply chain-orientated benefits (Mentzer et al., 2001). Interestingly, Wal-Mart succeeded in the Chinese market by establishing a flexible corporate culture. However, its German acquisitions were not as successful because of problems in integrating with varied manufacturers' and suppliers' culture as well as a heterogeneous portfolio of stores. The results support business-to-business and alliance literature arguing that a competitive advantage exists when cultural similarities and values are shared across partnering organizations (Sarkar et al., 2001). Compatible norms, values, and attitudes across the supply chain partners enhance trust, commitment, and confidence among partners and facilitate information-sharing and supply chain capabilities. The mediation effects suggest that technical, strategic, and cultural compatibility should be considered crucial resources for achieving IOIS integration, supply chain capabilities, and a competitive advantage.