Access flexibility, trust and performance in achieving competitiveness: An empirical study of Chinese suppliers and distributors

This paper aims to advance research in the challenging area of achieving competitiveness through supply chain flexibility fit and trust development.

A structured survey questionnaire was administered to a potential list of 773 participants resulting in 348 valid responses. An empirical study was conducted on these responses.

Leveraging of flexibility in supply chain access structures and improving of trust relationships can ensure significant performance improvement.

The research relies on the use of cross sectional data instead of longitudinal data, thereby limiting the generalisibility of the findings.

The strong evidence of relationship between improved performance and capability of supply chain linkages provides Chinese business managers with practical guidelines for improving competitive edge.

The value of the paper lies in the originality of the data and context‐relevant findings. No previous study of this nature had been undertaken in China.