Inter-organizational information systems visibility in buyer–supplier relationships: The case of telecommunication equipment component manufacturing industry

Abstract

The concept and operation of supply chain (SC) visibility remain underexplored questions in supply chain management, as is the question of the facilitating role of inter-organizational information systems (IOIS) in achieving SC visibility. This paper seeks to elaborate on the novel concept of IOIS visibility and to explore the antecedents and consequences of IOIS visibility. Investigating SC cooperation from the perspectives of both partners (buyers and suppliers) is important, especially when channel partners depend on each other and when asymmetries in IOIS visibility can exist. The data that this study requires were collected from 51 matched pairs of intermediate producers of telecommunication equipment components and their immediate suppliers. The results show that IOIS visibility is an important predictor of supply chain performance from the supplier's perspective. In turn, IOIS visibility is significantly influenced by the supply chain partner's internal IS integration and inter-organizational IT infrastructure compatibility.