Supply chain management practices - IT utilisation alignment:impact on supply chain performance and firm performance

This paper examines alignment between supply chain management (SCM) practices and information technology (IT) utilisation and its impact on supply chain performance and firm performance. Applying the information processing view of firms to the supply chain and drawing from the notion of information systems capabilities, we define three SCM practices - IT utilisation alignment capabilities, as the fit between three specific types of SCM practices and three corresponding kinds of IT utilisation. We develop hypotheses suggesting positive associations between these capabilities, and supply chain performance and firm performance. Our results show that two capabilities namely inter-firm SCM practices - IT use external alignment and information SCM practices - IT use infrastructural alignment are positively associated with supply chain performance and firm performance. Hypotheses were tested through structural equation modelling analysis using SMART PLS software, of survey data collected from 205 senior managers in purchasing, logistics, operations and supply chain functions, from manufacturing firms in the USA