IOS drivers of manufacturersupplier flexibility and manufacturer agility Abstract   In todayxe2x80x99s hypercompetitive environment, it is critical for manufacturing firms to be agile in responding to ephemeral opportunities in the marketplace. This agility often requires the collaboration with supply chain partners. However, how a manufacturing firm collaborates with its suppliers to achieve agility remains an understudied issue. This study holds that manufacturing firms and their suppliers need to develop manufacturersupplier flexibility accompanied with wellbuilt integrated information systems and associated analytical systems (such as business intelligence) to enable manufacturer agility. To deepen our understanding of the roles of manufacturersupplier flexibility and IOS technologies in facilitating manufacturer agility, we build and test a model based on the real options theory and bounded rationality. Based on 141 matchedpair samples of Taiwanese manufacturing firms, our findings demonstrate the importance of manufacturersupplier flexibility in achieving higher manufacturer agility, wherein IOS integration enables better flexibility. We also show IOSenabled analytical ability can strengthen the effect of such flexibility on manufacturer agility. Implications of the results for practices and academics are provided.

Collaboration in demanddriven supply chain: Based on a perspective of governance and ITbusiness strategic alignment Abstract   In todayxe2x80x99s marketplace, firms participating in a supply chain are required to work collaboratively to quickly respond to market and consumer demands. To understand how firms may effectively achieve supply chain collaboration, this paper presents an empirical study using a moderated mediation model that explores the effects of formal contract, ebusiness strategic alignment (including intellectual and operational alignment) and the degree of competition on collaboration in demanddriven supply chain. Using data from a survey of IT and business executives in 209 firms, we discover that formal contract has a positive effect on supply chain collaboration through intellectual and operational alignment. In addition, the positive mediating effect of operational alignment is stronger under a higher degree of competition. Although there is no moderated mediation effect in the path of formal contractintellectual alignmentsupply chain collaboration, the degree of competition shows a negative moderated effect on the relationship between formal contract and intellectual alignment, and a positive moderated effect on the relationship between intellectual alignment and supply chain collaboration. Learnings from this study contribute to supply chain management literature, and provide a comprehensive view of the governance and strategic antecedents of supply chain collaboration under various environmental circumstances.