电子制造厂供应链管理信息系统能力

Abstract.SupplyChainManagementInformationSystems(SCMIS)playanincreasinglycriticalroleintheabilityoffirmstoreducecostsandincreasetheresponsivenessoftheirsupplychain.ThispaperdevelopsanempiricallysupportedmodeloftheorganizationalcapabilitiesenabledbySCMIS.Themodelintegratesandenrichestheoreticalandempiricalstudiesofcompet-itivestrategy,supplychainmanagement,andinterorganizationalinforma-tionsystems.Evidencefromanexploratorycasestudyofthreelargefirmsintheelectronicsmanufacturingindustryisexaminedtobuildabetter-supportedtheoryofSCMIScapabilities.Thefindingssuggesttheorgani-zationalcapabilitiesenabledbySCMIScanbeconceptualizedasthelevelofsupportprovidedfor:operationalefficiency;operationalflexibility;internalplanningandanalysis;andexternalplanningandanalysis.ThetheoreticalmodelfurthersanunderstandingofSCMIScapabilitiesandissufficientlydevelopedtopermitoperationalizationforfuturestudiesevaluatingtheeffectivenessofSCMIS.Keywords:IScapabilities,competitivestrategy,supplychainmanagement,multiplecasestudy1IntroductionSupplyChainManagementInformationSystems(SCMIS)playanincreasinglycriticalroleintheabilityoffirmstoreducecostsandincreasetheresponsivenessoftheirsupplychain(ChopraandMeindl2001;DagenaisandGautschi2002;Lee2000).SCMISareinformationsystems(IS)usedtocoordinateinformationbetweeninternalandexternalcustomers,suppliers,distributors,andotherpartnersinasupplychain.IndividualstudieshaveexploredthebenefitsandcapabilitiesofdifferentSCMISsuchasElectronicDataInterchange(EDI)(Leeetal.1999;Mukhopadhyayetal.1995),1CorrespondingauthorISeB(2004)2:207–222DOI:10.1007/s10257-004-0035-5Supplychainmanagementinformationsystemscapabilities.AnexploratorystudyofelectronicsmanufacturersTimS.McLaren1,MilenaM.Head,YufeiYuanDegrooteSchoolofBusinessMcMasterUniversity1280MainStreetWest,Hamilton,Ontario,CanadaL8S4M4(e-mail:[e-mail])InformationSystemsande-BusinessManagement
Springer-Verlag2004ElectronicMarketplace(DagenaisandGautschi2002;KaplanandSawhney2000),orEnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)(Green2001)systems.However,therearefewempiricallyderivedmodelssuitableforanalyzingtheorganizationalcapabilitiessupportedbytherangeofSCMISalterna-tives.Asaresult,firmsfacecomplexandriskydecisionsanalyzingandselectinganappropriateSCMISsolutionorensuringthattheirimplementedsystemsarealignedwiththeirbusinessstrategies(ReddyandReddy2001).Anorganizationalcapabilityistheabilityofanorganizationtoachieveitsgoalsbyleveragingitsvariousresources(UlrichandLake1990).IScapabilitiesareorganizationalcapabilitieswhichareenabledbyIS.Similarly,SCMIScapabilitiesareorganizationalcapabilitiesenabledbySCMIS.Overtheyears,researchontheevaluationofIShasincreasedinabstractionfrommatchingIScapabilitieswithfunctionalrequirements(Lucas1981),todesiredarchitecture(AllenandBoynton1991),tocompetitivestrategies(Hendersonetal.1996).AlthoughstrategicalignmenthasreceivedconsiderableattentioninrecentstudiesofoverallISstrategy(KearnsandLederer2001;ReichandBenbasat2000;SabherwalandChan2001),modelshavenotyetbeendevelopedtoasufficientlydetailedleveltoexaminetheorganizationalcapabilitiesenabledbyspecifictypesofIS,suchasSCMIS.DetermininghowwellSCMISenablevariousorganizationalcapabilitiesinafirmcanreducethecomplexityofevaluatingdifferentSCMIS.PreviousstudieshavedevelopedindividualmodelsoftheorganizationalcapabilitiesenabledbyvarioustypesofIS(Bensaou1997;SabherwalandChan2001;VenkatramanandRamanujam1987;Zviran1990).However,nosinglemodelexiststhatissuitableforexaminingandevaluatingthecapabilitiesenabledbySCMISspecifically.Forexample,thisstudyfoundexistinggenericIScapabilitiesconstructssuchas‘‘analysis’’(SabherwalandChan2001;Venkatraman1989)didnotsufficientlydiscriminatebetweeninternalandexternalanalysis,whichsubsequentinterviewsshowedtobeanimportantdistinctioninSCMIS.Furthermore,existingstudiesofIScapabilitieshaveseveralshortcomingswhenusedtomodelthecapabilitiesenabledbySCMISspecifically.Forexample,ambiguitiesintheexistingtheoriesmakeitunclearwhetherorhowamodelofSCMIScapabilitiesshoulddistinguishbetweencomplexconceptssuchasoperationalefficiency,operationalflexibility,andinternalorexternalbusinessprocesscoordination.Thus,thegoalofthispaperistodevelopanintegratedmodelofSCMIScapabilitiesthatissupportedbyempiricalevidencespecifictoSCMISimplementations.Themodeldevelopedintegratesandenrichestheoriesofcompetitivestrategy,supplychainmanagement,andinterorganizationalinformationsystems.Findingsfromanexploratorycasestudyofthreefirmsintheelectronicsmanufacturingindustryarepresentedtofurtherrefineandexploretheoperationalizationoftheconstructs.Forresearchers,themodelprovidesaninterdisciplinaryapproachtounderstandingtherangeofSCMIScapabilities.Withfurtherstudy,themodelandconceptscouldalsobeadaptedforotherstrategicISapplications.PractitionerscangainabetterunderstandingofthecapabilitiesoftheirimplementedSCMISandtheexpectedcapabilitiesthatfutureSCMISmayprovide.208T.S.McLarenetal.ThenextsectiondescribestheinitialSCMIScapabilitiesmodelanditstheoreticalfoundations.Thethirdsectiondescribestheresearchmethodol-ogyandthefourthpresentsthefindingsan