Integrated supply chain strategy, competition capabilities and firm performance : investigating adoption of enterprise systems within Swedish service firms

Sammanfattning: Competition among service firms has become increasingly intense since the number of service firms has grown tremendously in recent decades. Managers in search of ingredients for competition capabilities have found supply chain integration beneficial. True supply chain integration is only possible through the use of enterprise systems. However, the impact of the adoption of enterprise systems in service firms has not been examined thoroughly. Thus, there is a pronounced need for academic research in this area. Accordingly, the purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the adoption of enterprise systems, supply chain integration, competition capabilities, and firm performance in service firms. Based on the literature review, a proposed research model and six hypotheses were developed. A paper-based mail survey resulted in 233 complete and usable responses from Swedish service firms, at their major service level, which resulted in a response rate of 63%. The majority of the respondents were wholesale trades. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. In addition, the moderating and mediating effects were tested.The results revealed that an increase in anticipated benefits and access to new markets leads to the adoption of enterprise systems. Further, the technology plays a significant role in supply chain integration, and improving that integration enhances competition capabilities. Moreover, the findings demonstrated that competition capabilities relate significantly and positively to firm performance. Finally, it was found that enterprise systems do not have a direct relationship with firm performance; however, their relationship was mediated by supply chain integration and competition capabilities.Thus, it is suggested that service sectors managers who wish to achieve superior competition position in the marketplaces and trades, consider integration with their supply chain partners. In this regard, the adoption of enterprise systems facilitates supply chain integration. Finally, managers need to know that while enterprise systems do not directly improve firm performance, they impact supply chain integration and competition capabilities.