THE IMPACT OF IMPORTANT CONTEXTUAL FACTORS ON ‘INFORMATION QUALITY’ AS A SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICE

Abstract

Supply Chain Management (SCM) practices have been defined as a set of activities undertaken in an organization to promote effective management of its Supply Chain (SC). The ‘Quality of Information’ exchanged between trading partners is one of such constructs (practices) vital for achieving excellence in organizational management. The objectives of the study are to analyze the impact of important contextual factors on ‘Information Quality (IQ)’ and to recommend the dimensions to be improved for achieving better level of the practice. Data were collected from manufacturing firms of three industries: Apparel, Food and Printing. Industry, Organization Size, SC Length, Channel Structure and Demand Uncertainty were the contextual factors considered. For evaluating IQ, the measurement instrument developed by Suhong Li et al. was used. It defines Timeliness, Accuracy, Completeness, Adequacy and Reliability of information as basic dimensions of IQ. The study discovered that Industry, Size of the firm and Downstream SC structure have significant impacts on IQ.