Competitive advantage through supply chain responsiveness and supply chain integration

Abstract

In today’s competitive business, most of the firms increased focus on delivering value to the customer. The focus on attention of businesses is providing products and services that are more valuable compared to its competitors. This forces supply chain to be more responsive and create competitive advantage. This research investigates the impact of supply chain integration on competitive advantage. The study also assesses the impact of supply chain responsiveness on firm competitive advantage. The data collection instrument used was a questionnaire which was administrated to a total sample of 400 managers in Malaysia manufacturing industry. The response rate was 62% while 50% was usable questionnaires. Sample selection was based on convenience sampling. The data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and correlation between independent and dependent variables. The analyses involved statistical methods such as reliability and validity tests and multiple regressions. The research findings supported the hypotheses that supply chain integration positively impact supply chain responsiveness and competitive advantage. The finding also showed that supply chain responsiveness was positively associated with competitive advantage of a firm.