Supply chain capital and firm performance: the role of complementary capabilities
Journal of Intellectual Capital
ISSN: 1469-1930
Article publication date: 4 January 2022
Issue publication date: 21 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on social capital theory, we extend the concept of supply chain capital to examine whether structural and relational capital can strengthen the complementary capabilities of suppliers and enhance their performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical study was conducted on 161 precision mold equipment suppliers. To evaluate the mediated moderation model of supply chain capital, we applied multiple linear regression to test our hypotheses.
Findings
We found that both structural and relational capital positively affect the complementary capabilities of suppliers and that these capabilities mediate the relationship between supply chain capital and supplier performance. Furthermore, structural capital positively and significantly moderates the mediating effect on the relationship between complementary capabilities and supplier performance.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides suggestions for suppliers that are equipped with sufficient structural and relational capital to effectively enhance their complementary capabilities. By considering the interaction between structural capital and complementary capabilities, suppliers can effectively improve their performance.
Originality/value
This novel research develops a theoretical model to examine the antecedents and consequences of supplier complementary capabilities. We contribute to a new line of research on supply chain capital, which aims to explore how it affects the complementary capabilities of suppliers by examining a practical supply chain activity setting.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Taiwan for financially supporting this research under Contract MOST 108-2410-H-415-012. The author would also like to acknowledge the funding supporting by Organizational Capability and Leadership Improvement Project of the Changchun New Oriental Education Training School (SKY-HX-202001933), New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc.; Organization Leadership Improvement Project of the Chinese Institute of Business Administration (SKY-HX-20210188), the Chinese Institute of Business Administration; Binjiang-the Road to A Better Life Project (SKY-HX-20210158), Hangzhou Binjiang Real Estate Group Co., Ltd.; and Project of Employment Environment Satisfaction, Dilemma and Demand of Taiwan Compatriots in Mainland China (SKY-ZX-20210049), Taiwan Affairs Office of Zhejiang Provincial People' s Government.
Citation
Wang, C., Chin, T. and Ting, C.-T. (2023), "Supply chain capital and firm performance: the role of complementary capabilities", Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 560-579. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-06-2021-0148
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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