Lean vs. Agile Supply Chain: The Effect of IT Architectures on Supply Chain Capabilities and Performance

Abstract

The widespread use of information technology (IT) has changed the nature of supply chain management. However, it is still unclear whether different IT infrastructure design may affect supply chain capabilities and firm performance. In this study, we investigated the impacts of a supply chain’s IT architecture, which could be integration-based or standardization-based, on supply chain capabilities and firm performance. We also examined the effects of lean and agile supply chain strategies. We tested our research model against data collected from 162 companies, 97 based in China and 65 in Taiwan. Our findings indicate that firms with different supply chain strategies focus on different aspects of IT architectures. In addition, supply chain capability is an enabler to enhance supply chain performance through well-suited supply chain IT.