Supply chain technology adoption in Malaysian automotive suppliers

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the relevance of technology adoption factors and to explore how it can influence suppliers of automotive manufacturers to adopt the supply chain technology (SCT) within their organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical survey of Malaysian's automotive supplier was conducted to study those factors and also their relationship to the types of technologies being adopted. Data were collected using mail questionnaires which were sent to suppliers of two leading national automotive manufacturers. Out of 122, a total of 73 respondents were used for the purpose of the study. The study tested three hypotheses in data analysis.

Findings

The results of the analysis confirm that three identified factors namely; organisational structure, organisational size and supply chain member pressure have a positive relationship with the SCT adoption. The analysis shows these three hypotheses have been supported and satisfied the identified gaps.

Research limitations/implications

Further research shall be carried out to explore and comprehend the impact of SCT adoption on organisational performance. In addition, future research should also investigate the impact of SCT adoption in other stages of the adoption process.

Practical implications

The proposed framework provides important insights into the key factors, which enable managers or supply chain practitioners to gain better understanding of these factors impacting SCT adoptions.

Originality/value

Up to now, there are neither detailed studies focusing on the identification of SCT adoption factors in Malaysia environment nor studies that try to look at the organisational adoption of a considerable number of SCT.

Citation

Kamariah Kamaruddin, N. and Mohamed Udin, Z. (2009), "Supply chain technology adoption in Malaysian automotive suppliers", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 385-403. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410380910936819