BUS606: Operations and Supply Chain Management

Managing supply chains with efficacy creates value and consequently enhances supply chain members' business performance. As indicated by Vijayasarathy and Prajogo and Olhager, effective and efficient supply chain management (SCM) forms the basis upon which long-term, sustainable, competitive edge and superior supply chain performance contracts can be achieved. Supply chain contracts have increasingly become long term in nature and partners willingly share information regarding their processes, quality performance and even cost structure in order to achieve this objective. Through close long-term relationships, the suppliers have become part of a well-managed chain resulting to lasting effect on the superior competitiveness and performance of the entire supply chain.

A key question that can be asked is: What relationship-specific factors are likely to affect the development of long-term orientation in order for supply chain partners to realise the superior performance? It is worth noting that supplier communication and supplier network structure are two key constructs in the evolving paradigm of SCM – a paradigm whose general theme is the shifting of emphasis from isolated individual firm performance to superior long-term collaborative value creation in a whole supply chain. Supplier communication can be characterised as frequent, genuine and involving information sharing or personal contacts between supply chain partners in order to jointly find solutions or facilitate business. In the context of SCM, network structure refers to a grouping of businesses and customers who are characterised by strong linkages between supply chain members with low levels of vertical integration. Researchers and managers have increasingly recognised that in order to capture potential synergy and create superior value in supply chains, the supply partners must develop effective communication and network structures. Consequently, research interest in supply chain collaborative communication and network governance is currently quite substantial and growing.

Recently, some researchers such as Paulraj, Lado and Chen have been particularly interested in identifying the key drivers of supplier communication and network structure; information technology (IT) has been singled out as a paramount driver in the relatively large body of models and empirical findings in the IT and management-related literature. It is recognised in the literature that more than ever before, today's information technology is permeating the supply chain at every point, transforming the way in which exchange-related activities are performed and the nature of the linkages between them. A more recent perspective on linkages within the supply chain considers the role of inter-business communication systems, which are sophisticated information systems connecting separate supply chain partners. The strength of inter-business IT systems has been particularly crucial with respect to enabling the process transformation needed to create effective networks. Information technology also enhances supply chain efficiency by providing real-time information regarding product availability, inventory level, shipment status and production requirements. It has a vast potential to facilitate collaborative planning among supply chain partners by sharing information on demand forecasts and production schedules that dictate supply chain activities.

Despite the appreciation of the value of IT, supply communication, network structure and long term relationships traced in the literature, there is a relative dearth of studies that have specifically investigated the influence of IT use on relationship longevity and the mediating role of collaborative communication and network governance. Furthermore, most of the studies that have attempted to investigate the relationships between some of these variables have been conducted in the developed countries of Europe and the USA, or the newly developed countries of Asia. Therefore, researches that has investigated the relationships between IT utilisation, supplier collaborative communication, network governance and relationships longevity in supply chains in the context of the developing countries of Africa remains scant – hence the need for the current empirical study.

Based on these identified research gaps, this article has three objectives:

• To examine the causal influence of information technology on a supplier's relationship longevity in Zimbabwe's supply chains.
• To present an empirical investigation into the mediating role of supplier collaborative communication and network governance in IT – relationship longevity linkage.
• To apply the Network theory in this research context.

This study has a strong theoretical grounding from the current research. On the whole, the findings of this study are expected to contribute new knowledge to the existing body of SCM literature in addition to providing practical implications to supply chain practitioners within the context of a developing African country such as Zimbabwe.

The remainder of this article will review the literature on Network theory, then propose a conceptual research model and develop the research hypotheses. The study will also provide the research methodology, data analysis and results. The results are then discussed, implications provided and limitations and future research directions highlighted.