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The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of inter‐organisational compatibility on inter‐organisational information systems (IOIS) integration and supply chain performance of large enterprises (LE) and small‐medium enterprises (SMEs) in Australian retailing chains.

Convergent interviewing technique was used to collect data from managers of 12 fast‐moving consumer goods and hardware manufacturing and retailing organisations. Within‐ and cross‐case analyses were used to analyse the data.

The results indicate that technical, strategic and cultural compatibility between supply chain partners are antecedents to IOIS integration and supply chain performance of both LE and SMEs. A conceptual model explaining the relationship between inter‐organisational compatibility, IOIS integration and supply chain performance is advanced. The study extends congruency theory to information systems and supply chain contexts.

The study provides some guidelines to supply chain and information systems managers on how inter‐organisational compatibility can be used to facilitate IOIS integration and enhance supply chain performance in both large and small firms. Technical, strategic and cultural compatibility emerged as antecedents to IOIS integration, suggesting the need for supply chain managers especially within SMEs to pay close attention to inter‐organisational compatibility factors when integrating IOIS with supply chain partners.

Research relating IOIS integration and supply chain is limited, especially in the SMEs context. Thus, this paper contributes to the body of knowledge by examining how inter‐organisational compatibility influences organisations' decisions to integrate IOIS with supply chain partners using congruency theory.

The purpose of this paper is to define the integration capability dimensions and create a model for self-assessing the integration capability in inter-organizational projects.

A theoretical construct of, referred in this study as integration capability framework is elaborated following a systematic literature review. Thereafter, an integration capability self-assessment model, based on maturity thinking, is derived from the theoretical framework. The self-assessment model is further developed and tested for validity within five inter-organizational project networks in cooperation with industry practitioners, representing construction, industrial engineering, and mining sectors.

The results show that inter-organizational projects can use the developed model in self-assessing the maturity levels of various integration mechanisms, thus the state of integration capability at any point in time during inter-organizational projects.

This study is an attempt to identify how the integration capability dimensions can be self-assessed in inter-organizational projects, through the maturity levels of various integration mechanisms. The results offer insights for both academics and project management practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of supply chain integration (SCI) in improving sustainability management practices (SMPs) and performance.

Based on data collected from 931 manufacturing firms in multiple countries and regions, the authors conducted a structural equation modeling analysis to test the proposed hypotheses.

The findings suggest that supplier and customer integration are vital enablers for both intra- and inter-organizational SMPs. The results also reveal that both intra- and inter-organizational SMPs are significantly and positively associated with sustainability performance (i.e. economic, environmental and social performance) and function as complements to jointly enhance environmental and social performance.

This study incorporates SCI into the sustainability literature, providing a new perspective on sustainability and supply chain management research.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of organisational level supply chain activities on the effect of inter‐organisational information systems (IOIS) and activity (IOA) integration on business performance of retailing organisations within Australia.

The study followed a causal research approach and survey methodology to collect data from the managers of food and hardware retailers. Multiple regression and MacKinnon et al.'s mediation analysis were used to investigate the hypothesised relationships.

The results suggest that inter‐organisational information systems (IOIS) and activity integration have positive effects on customer responsiveness and financial performance of organisations. Organisational‐level supply chain functions mediate the relationships between IOIS and activity integration and customer responsiveness, as well as financial performance.

The research focused at the retailer level of the supply chain. Large‐scale cross‐sectional studies that include other levels of supply chain are required for generalisability.

The research suggests that organisations need to integrate their inter‐organisational information systems and activities with supply chain partners to enhance supply chain and business performance.

The results extend the body of knowledge on inter‐organisational information systems, inter‐organisational integration and supply chain management. The study also provides some empirical insights into management practices in the retailing sector.

Many countries aim to improve public services by use of information and communication technology (ICT) in public service supply chains. However, the literature does not address how inter-organizational ICT is used in redesigning these particular supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to explore this important and under-investigated area.

An explorative multiple-case study was performed based on 36 interviews, 39 documents, extensive field visits and observations providing data on digital transformation in four European criminal justice supply chains.

Two different design approaches to digital transformation were found, which are labelled digitization and digitalization. These approaches are characterized by differences in public service strategies, performance aims, and how specific public characteristics and procedures are dealt with. Despite featuring different roles for ICT, both types show the viable digital transformation of public service supply chains. Additionally, the application of inter-organizational ICT is found not to automatically result in changes in the coordination and management of the chain, in contrast to common assumptions.

This paper is one of the first to adopt an inter-organizational perspective on the use of ICT in public service supply chains. The findings have scientific and managerial value because fine-grained insights are provided into how public service supply chains can use ICT in an inter-organizational setting. The study shows the dilemmas faced by and possible options for public organizations when designing digital service delivery.

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the different roles of intra- and inter-organizational information and communication technology (ICT) in improving supply chain performance. It proposes different mechanisms to explain how intra- and inter-organizational ICT interact with supply chain integration, and contribute to supply chain performance. The main research question is: What are the distinctive roles of inter-organizational ICT and intra-organizational ICT in improving supply chain performance?

The paper builds on original survey data of 320 Chinese manufacturing firms gathered in China.

The paper shows that inter-organizational ICT has a positive direct relationship with supply chain performance and this relationship is mediated by supply chain integration. Intra-organizational ICT has no direct relationship with supply chain performance. However, intra-organizational ICT moderates the effect of the supply chain integration on supply chain performance.

The paper argues that more research into the specific roles and interaction of ICT with business processes is needed in order to better understand its role in improving supply chain performance.

For managers the findings show that inter- and intra-organizational ICT play a different role in the improvement of supply chain performance: the first leading to more supply chain integration, which in turn improves performance, while the second needs additional investment in integrative practices to help improve supply chain performance.

This paper adds to the debate on the role of ICT in improving supply chain performance and shows that a detailed investigation into underlying mechanisms, and the interaction of ICT with other business processes is valuable.

The effective management of inter-organizational integration is central to complex projects. Such projects pose significant challenges for integration, as organizations struggle with constantly changing inter-organizational interdependencies and must develop and adapt integration mechanisms to meet new demands. The purpose of this paper is to understand what kinds of integration mechanisms are used and how they are developed and adjusted during the infrastructure alliance projects.

This study provides empirical evidence of integration dynamics in project alliancing by analyzing two infrastructure alliance projects – a complex tunnel construction project and a railway renovation project. The research approach is an inductive case study.

This paper identifies integration mechanisms adopted in two case projects and three central triggers that led to changes in the integration mechanisms: project lifecycle phase, unexpected events and project team’s learning during the project.

Integration capability should be a precondition for alliance project organizations and requires the adoption of a wide range of integration mechanisms, as well as an ability to adjust those mechanisms in response to everyday dynamics and emergent situations.

Although unplanned contingencies and the responses to them represent important influences in organizations, there is limited amount of research on the dynamics of integration. The findings will be of value in supporting the management of inter-organizational integration in complex, uncertain and time-critical construction projects.

One of the main motivations associated with the adoption of electronic commerce (e‐commerce) is the integration and automation of business processes. Yet, for many years the integration of systems has been a barrier to business process automation. However, a new generation of software called application integration (AI) efficiently addresses integration problems and leads to more flexible and maintainable solutions. AI incorporates functionality from disparate applications through a diversity of integration technologies. Regardless, confusion surrounding terminology in the integration area has led to a debate regarding the capabilities of AI, as each term proposes a different range of AI technologies. Therefore, there appears a clear need to clarify this confusion. In doing so, a novel taxonomy is proposed, which is based on the critical analysis and evaluation of existing case studies extrapolated from the AI literature. The proposed taxonomy separates AI into intra‐organisational AI, hybrid AI and inter‐organisational AI. The novelty of the taxonomy centres on the synthesis of a comprehensive set of systems that efficiently describe the range of AI technology in terms of application. In doing so, the taxonomy presented will allow developers and integrators to navigate better through the portfolio of integration technologies and therefore better understand the integration area. The proposed taxonomy might also be used as a tool for decision making.

The paper aims to examine the role of extranet portals – one‐to‐many web‐portals extending a company towards its suppliers or customers – in relation to system‐to‐system (S2S) links in facilitating information exchange between suppliers and buyers.

A case study approach is used to analyze empirical data collected from 16 Finnish companies concerning the use of inter‐organizational information systems in information exchange with supply chain partners.

For the use of extranet portals in relation to S2S links in information exchange between supplier and buyer, two concepts – partner‐extending role and information‐expanding role – emerged from the case studies.

The Finnish context and the research methodology chosen have to be taken into consideration when generalizing on the findings. As for future research, the findings indicate that, when studying the use of technological solutions for information exchange in supply chains, the interplay between the different types of solutions used should be acknowledged instead of studying the solutions separately.

S2S links and extranet portals can be used as complementary solutions in facilitating supply chain co‐operation and the related information exchange. Hence, practitioners should not only acknowledge the fundamental differences between these two types of information systems but also leverage these differences to achieve more synergy in the use of inter‐organizational information systems. Further, a conceptual tool is provided for assessing the use of extranet portals in relation to S2S links with supply chain partners.

The study contributes to the limited prior research on extranet portals and develops concepts that can be utilized both in future research and in practice.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how interpersonal relationships (IPRs) and inter-organisational relationships (IORs) interact with each other as driving forces of supply chain integration (SCI). More specifically (the) three dimensions of IPR – personal affection, personal credibility, and personal communication – are examined in regards to how they affect inter-organisational relationships during SCI.

The research employed an exploratory multiple case study approach with four New Zealand case companies selected as the empirical basis. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews of managerial executives in relation to supply chain activities, which were triangulated with company archival data.

The authors found that IPRs are able to interact with IORs to influence the integration of supply chains. More specifically, IPRs influence IORs by initiating organisational relationships in the SCI context; and influences from IPR dimensions on IORs tend to be of differing magnitudes and have different evolutional paths across the whole SCI process.

This research contributes to knowledge about the roles and mechanisms through which IPRs shape and enable inter-organisational level relationships within the SCI context.