Investigation of Impact of Supply Chain Integration on Product Innovation and Quality

Abstract

Abstract This paper addresses integration issues in supply chain, and tries to investigate how different aspects of integration are linked with some product features. Integration in this study is interpreted as "internal", "upstream" (supply), and "downstream" (demand). Two product features which are considered in this study are "product innovation" and "product quality". To examine the relationships between supply chain integrations – as mentioned above, and product features, this research follows the survey method in automotive industry. The results imply that comparing to internal and supply chain downstream integrations supply chain upstream integration has a higher impact on product quality. It is also found that the influence of supply chain downstream integration on product innovation is greater than other variables. In brief, this study mainly tackles the importance of specific level of supply chain integrations and its effects on two product features.