Supply chain agility: Securing performance for Chinese manufacturers

This study develops and empirically tests a conceptual framework to investigate the antecedents of manufacturers' supply chain agility and the connection of their agility with performance in an emerging economy. Drawing upon the information theory, this study argues that technical (IT capability) and relational factors (information sharing and trust, and operational collaboration) are the antecedents of a manufacturer's supply chain agility. This study also posits that cost efficiency mediates the relationship between agility and performance based on transaction cost economics. Employing path analysis, this study shows that strong associations exist between a manufacturing firm's IT capability and operational collaboration with suppliers and its supply chain agility. The results also indicate the significant mediating effect of cost efficiency between the manufacturer's supply chain agility and performance. Implications are discussed and future research directions are also suggested.