The Impact of 360o Supply Chain Integration on Operational and Business Performance

Abstract

Supply chain integration has been a topic of significant academic interest in the operational research discipline for the last few decades. Several scientists have conducted surveys investigating its relationship with operational and / or business performance. The present paper aims to explore supply chain integration on a 360 degree radius, thus, suggesting a Conceptual Framework that accounts for all aspects that have been neglected by most researchers. The introduction of the terminology "360 0 supply chain integration" is being attempted on the basis of a literature review that accumulated measures and concepts used in the past into a holistic Conceptual Framework that aims to provide a guideline towards integrating the supply chain processes of a company. The examination of the proposed Conceptual Framework was made with the use of a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to a group of Greek manufacturing companies. The empirical data were analyzed using the "Structural Equation Modelling" technique. Results offer both theoretical and empirical evidence.