The role of relationships in supply chain collaboration and their impacts on performance: a study of Vietnamese aquaculture industry
Creators: name: NGUYEN, Minh Phuc
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 350903
subject: Logistics

description: This research identifies various attributes of relationship as antecedents of supply chain collaboration. It investigates the associations between the various attributes, collaboration, and performance of the manufacturing firm in the Asian context. The Vietnamese aquaculture and fishery sector is chosen as a subject for the empirical investigation.

A review of extant literature was conducted to identify the various attributes of relationships and their significance in supply chain collaboration. Taking into account the different approaches adopted by Asian and Western countries in establishing and maintaining a business relationship, it is contended that most of the current supply chain collaboration models and frameworks, which were primarily developed for developed economies, are not applicable in the Asian business environment in which inter-personal relationship plays an important role. Therefore, a framework for investigating the role of both inter-personal and inter-organisational relationships in supply chain collaboration was developed based on various attributes of relationship as antecedents to collaboration identified in the literature. It also incorporates certain performance measures as consequences of supply chain collaboration. To test the hypotheses made about the associations between the various constructs, a sample of 346 manufacturers from the aquaculture and fishery industry in Vietnam were surveyed. Structural equation modeling was used to analyse the collected data.

Statistical analyses show a good model fit implying that the proposed linkages between various constructs in the conceptual model are valid. The findings reveal that as antecedents, attributes of both inter-personal relationship, such as inter-personal trust, and those of inter-organisational relationship, such as commitment, inter-organisational trust, and reciprocity, are critical to the success of supply chain collaboration between manufacturers and their suppliers. While inter-personal trust could be a steppingstone for long-term organisational partnership, it does not have a strong direct impact on the partnership but needs to be mediated by commitment and inter-organisational trust. The findings also reveal that supply chain collaboration positively affects operational performance and business performance of manufacturers.

This research discloses the connections between relationship and other factors in supply chain collaboration which have not been much investigated in previous studies, especially for developing economies. It contributes to the understanding of the role of relationships in supply chain collaboration and their resulting impacts on the performance improvements of manufacturers. Using the Vietnamese aquaculture industry as a case study, the findings also provide insights and guidance for practitioners in the manufacturing industry in Asian countries, especially on how to leverage inter-personal relationship to strengthen inter-organisational relationship, so as to foster a mutually beneficial partnership through supply chain collaboration. Although focussing on Vietnam aquaculture, the proposed model can be further substantiated in future studies with data collected from other industries or the service sector in different Asian countries to enhance the reliability and generalisability of the findings.