Supply chain integration scales validation and benchmark values
Abstract: The clarification of
the constructs of the supply chain integration (clients, suppliers, external
and internal), the creation of a measurement instrument based on a list of
items taken from earlier papers, the validation of these scales and a
preliminary benchmark to interpret the scales by percentiles based on a set of
control variables (size of the plant, country, sector and degree of vertical
integration).
Design/methodology/approach: Our empirical analysis is based on the HPM
project database (2005-2007 timeframe). The international sample is made up of
266 plants across ten countries: Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Korea, Spain, Sweden and the USA. In each country. We analized the
descriptive statistics, internal consistency testing to purify the items
(inter-item correlations, Cronbach’s alpha, squared multiple correlation,
corrected item-total correlation), exploratory factor analysis, and finally, a
confirmatory factor analysis to check the convergent and discriminant validity
of the scales. The analyses will be done with the SPSS and EQS programme using
the maximum likelihood parameter estimation method.
Findings: The four proposed scales show excellent psychometric
properties.
Research limitations/implications: with a clearer and more concise
designation of the supply chain integration measurement scales more reliable
and accurate data could be taken to analyse the relations between these
constructs with other variables of interest to the academic l fields.
Practical implications: providing scales that are valid as a diagnostic
tool for best practices, as well as providing a benchmark with which to compare
the score for each individual plant against a collection of industrial
companies from the machinery, electronics and transportation sectors.
Originality/value: supply chain integration may be a major factor in
explaining the performance of companies. The results are nevertheless
inconclusive, the vast range of results obtained are due, amongst other things,
to the fact that there is no exactness to the group of scales used, no-one has
yet published an analysis of the measurement models nor clear benchmarks as to
the variety of the scales used.
Keywords: scale validation;
questionnaire; reliability; validity; psichometric properties; supply chain
integration
Author: Juan A. Marin-Garcia,
Rafaela Alfalla-Luque, Carmen Medina-López
Journal Code: jptindustrigg130021
