Assessment of supply chain integration and performance relationships: A meta-analytic investigation of the literature

The concept of integration has received considerable attention in operations and supply chain management literature in a time spanning over two decades. To advance theory development, it is important to critically examine the empirical findings in various integration studies. This paper undertakes an extensive investigation of the relationships between supply chain integration and various performance dimensions using a meta-analytical methodology. The study contributes to literature in four important ways. First, the findings empirically show that internal integration, supplier integration, and customer integration have significant impact on a firm's financial performance. Second, the study examines the impact of internal integration, supplier integration, and customer integration on a firm's operational performance; and its underlying dimensions of cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility separately. Third, the study points out the specific relationships between supply chain integration and performance that need to be further examined within contingency framework to discern the role of moderating factors. Finally, to provide direction for managerial decision-making, the study offers insights regarding integration dimension(s) that have largest breadth and depth of impact on various performance measures.