Supply Chain Strategy and the Benefits of Information Exchange

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the use of information exchange in industrial supply chain relationships. Specific information exchange characteristics are analyzed to determine their contribution to firm performance from the perspective of both the technology champion firm and the trading partner firm. Longitudinal analyses are conducted using data gathered from an electronically mediated industrial exchange network. This unique dataset, which includes information exchange data for thirty-nine technology champion firms and their electronically integrated trading partners across a two-year observation period, provides distinct insights into the application and outcomes related to information exchange in contemporary supply chains. The analysis of this large volume of information exchange transactions identifies best practices in the use of information exchange and their impact on firm performance.