TY - JOUR
T1 - Supply chain drivers, partnerships and performance of high-tech SMEs
T2 - An empirical study using SEM
AU - Rezaei, Jafar
AU - Ortt, Roland
AU - Trott, Paul
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine high-tech small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supply chain partnerships. Partnerships are considered at the level of business function rather than the entire organisation. Second, the drivers of SMEs to engage in partnerships are assessed to see whether functions engage in partnerships for different reasons. Third, performance per function is assessed to see the differential effect of partnerships on the function’s performance. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, the relationship between the drivers of SMEs to engage in partnerships, four types of partnerships (marketing and sales, research and development (R&D), purchasing and logistics, and production) and four types of functional performances of firms (marketing and sales, R&D, purchasing and logistics, and production) are examined. The data have been collected from 279 SMEs. The proposed hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling. Findings: The results indicate that there are considerable differences between business functions in terms of the degree of involvement in partnerships and the effect of partnerships on the performance of these functions. This paper contributes to research by explaining the contradictory results of partnerships on SMEs performance. Practical implications: This study helps firms understand which type of partnership should be established based on the firm’s drivers to engage in supply chain partnership; and which partnership has a significant effect on which type of business performance of the firm. Originality/value: The originality of this study is to investigate the relationship between different drivers to engage in supply chain partnership and different types of partnerships and different functional performance of firm in a single model.
AB - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine high-tech small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) supply chain partnerships. Partnerships are considered at the level of business function rather than the entire organisation. Second, the drivers of SMEs to engage in partnerships are assessed to see whether functions engage in partnerships for different reasons. Third, performance per function is assessed to see the differential effect of partnerships on the function’s performance. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, the relationship between the drivers of SMEs to engage in partnerships, four types of partnerships (marketing and sales, research and development (R&D), purchasing and logistics, and production) and four types of functional performances of firms (marketing and sales, R&D, purchasing and logistics, and production) are examined. The data have been collected from 279 SMEs. The proposed hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling. Findings: The results indicate that there are considerable differences between business functions in terms of the degree of involvement in partnerships and the effect of partnerships on the performance of these functions. This paper contributes to research by explaining the contradictory results of partnerships on SMEs performance. Practical implications: This study helps firms understand which type of partnership should be established based on the firm’s drivers to engage in supply chain partnership; and which partnership has a significant effect on which type of business performance of the firm. Originality/value: The originality of this study is to investigate the relationship between different drivers to engage in supply chain partnership and different types of partnerships and different functional performance of firm in a single model.
KW - Drivers
KW - High-tech
KW - Partnership
KW - Performance
KW - SEM
KW - SME
KW - Supply chain management
UR - http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:e0fe7dd7-e7a9-4048-af2e-2e15cee2fdfc
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044357476&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/IJPPM-01-2017-0017
DO - 10.1108/IJPPM-01-2017-0017
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85044357476
SN - 1741-0401
VL - 67
SP - 629
EP - 653
JO - International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management
JF - International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management
IS - 4
ER -