Supply Chain Exploitation, Exploration, and Firm Performance: Effects of Top Management and Information Technology Capabilities

While supply chain (SC) exploitation and exploration have been playing an increasingly important role in supply chain management, there is a dearth of research examining their antecedents and outcomes. In this research, we examine how SC exploitation and exploration impact firm performance. Specifically, drawing upon the boundary spanning theory, we theorize how top management, as boundary spanners, and three types of information technology (IT) capabilities, as boundary objects, enable SC exploitation and exploration. Our research hypotheses are tested using data collected from 157 firms in China. We found that both SC exploitation and exploration have significantly positive effects on firm performance. Also, top management participation directly affects both SC exploitation and exploration. In addition, IT business partnerships and external IT linkages positively affect both SC exploitation and exploration, whereas IT infrastructure is not significantly related to either SC exploitation or exploration. Contributions and implications of this study are discussed.