Antecedents and outcomes of supply chain effectiveness: An exploratory investigation

A growing body of research suggests that firms who effectively manage their supply chains can realize improved performance. To provide more specific insights into the key antecedents and outcomes of supply chain effectiveness, we report findings from focus groups involving 46 supply chain executives in four cities across the United States. We integrate the findings with extant research to derive a testable model proposing that firm performance is shaped, in part, by how firms manage their supply chain. The proposed supply chain model asserts that a firm's skill and knowledge base, technology, and trust in supply chain partners are key enablers of knowledge sharing along the chain, and that the application of this knowledge has important implications for the performance of both the supply chain and the focal firm.