Roles of interfirm information systems in supply chain management

The purpose of this study is to investigate how and for what purposes companies use interfirm information systems (IS) in supply chain management (SCM). Further, the drivers for the different uses of interfirm IS are investigated.

Two a priori constructs – the roles of interfirm IS in SCM and the drivers for interfirm IS use in SCM – are derived from the prior research. The case study approach is applied to analyze empirical data collected from 16 Finnish companies in order to assess the validity of the constructs.

The findings suggest that the proposed three categories – transaction processing, supply chain planning and collaboration, and order tracking and delivery coordination – represent well the different types of interfirm IS uses in SCM. Further, the findings suggest that the drivers behind these different categories of interfirm IS use differ.

The different purposes for which interfirm IS can be used in the management of supply chains are demonstrated. Further, the reasons for adopting interfirm IS for the different purposes are shown to vary and not to be as self‐evident as anticipated in the prior research.

The study addresses the lack of empirical research on how companies actually use IS in managing supply chain activities. It also contributes to the extant knowledge on the factors that drive companies to use IS in specific ways in their SCM efforts.