The Effect of Container Shipping Supply Chain Integration on Operational Performance: The Mediating Role of Information Sharing

Abstract

Purpose - Conventional supply chains (SCs) must identify facilitating roles, such as port or terminal operators, shipping companies, and freight forwarders in executing the various logistical activities that support the organizational strategies of shippers. Meanwhile, supply chain collaborative practices can engender a willingness to share relevant and mutually helpful information. To this end, this study seeks to identify the impact of supply chain integration (SCI) on information sharing (IS) and the operational performance (OP) of Korea’s container-shipping industry from the perspective of social capital. Design/methodology - We established the research model for this study based on previous studies. In administering the survey, we obtained 149 valid responses from employees working in liner-shipping companies and freight forwarders in Korea. With the collected questionnaires, the study’s hypotheses were tested using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0 Findings - The results indicate the existence of a mediated relationship where the impact of SCI on OP is mediated by IS. The effect of external integration (EI) on OP is fully mediated by information quality (IQ) and information-sharing content (ISC). Furthermore, EI, IQ and ISC partially mediate the relationship between internal integration (II) and OP. Originality/value - This study expands SCI contexts, where ISC and IQ respectively serve as bridges between EI and OP which has crucial implications for container-shipping companies in terms of improving their performance.