Antecedents of supply chain agility: An empirical investigation

In this thesis, supply chain agility is conceptualized in terms of the Supply Chain Operational Reference (SCOR(c)) model framework (SupplyChainCouncil, 2001). This study first attempts to investigate the construct of supply chain agility. Relying on extant literature, a definition of supply chain agility, and a framework for measurement and assessment of supply chain agility are developed. A second major objective is to empirically investigate antecedents of supply chain agility with respect to organizational characteristics and practices that a supply chain must possess.; Denison (1990) proposed a framework of relationships between organizational culture (i.e. organizational characteristics) and policies and practices, and their effects on organizational effectiveness. Building upon Denison's (1990) framework, the intent of this thesis is to investigate the effects of three organizational characteristics, namely organizational culture, market orientation and learning orientation on organizational practices and supply chain agility.; The competing values framework (Cameron & Quinn, 1999) is employed to characterize organizational culture due to its ability to assess both the internal and external foci of the culture, as well as the organic or mechanistic preference for structure. Culture is defined as widely shared and strongly held values (Chatman & Jehn, 1994; O'Reilly, 1989). The competing values framework results in the identification of the dominant culture exhibited by an organization. Clan culture has an internal focus with an organic structure; adhocracy culture also has an organic structure but displays an external focus; market culture has an external focus but favors a mechanistic structure; and hierarchy culture is internally focused and has a mechanistic structure.; The second organizational characteristic considered is market orientation. This construct is associated with maintaining a focus on the customer and the competitive landscape as well as the ability to distribute this information throughout the firm so that an appropriate response can be evoked. Learning orientation, the third organizational characteristic is associated with the questioning of current business practices so that new ways of competing can be adopted by the organization in keeping with its goals and objectives.; The impact of the above three elements on organizational practices relating to internal and external integration, as well as lean and flexible manufacturing practices, leading to supply chain agility are also investigated. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...