The relationship between supply chain management practices and overall firm performance: the mediating role of time based performance

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between supply chain management practices (SCMP) and overall firm performance (OFP) in supply chains (SCs) in Tanzania as a developing economy. The study investigates the mediating effect of time-based performance in the relationship between SCMP and overall firm performance (OFP), with the objective of advancing the understanding of performance in a broader context. In pursuit of this objective, the distinction between time-based performance (TBP) and OFP is demonstrated. The empirical data was drawn from a 2005/06 survey of 264 industrial firms in Tanzania. The structural equation modelling (SEM) technique employing the AMOS program was used in examining several competing models that represented full and partial mediation relationships. The findings indicated that SCMP was positively and significantly related to TBP; and TBP fully mediated the relationship between SCMP and OFP. The implication was that appropriate practices in firms engaging in SCMP were bound to improve their TBP, which in turn would influence the OFP positively.

Keywords: supply chain management, supply chain management practices, performance measurement