Collaborative supply chain practices and performance: exploring the key role of information quality

Purpose – This paper seeks to report the results of a study examining the importance of information quality for the efficacy of collaborative supply chain practices. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was sent to procurement managers throughout the supply chain within the German automotive industry. Regression analyses illustrate the differences in performance of collaborative practices under high and low information quality scenarios. Findings – The study illustrates that the impact of collaborative supply chain practices (i.e. information sharing, incentive alignment, joint‐decision making) on performance varies significantly depending on the quality of information that is exchanged throughout the supply chain. Specifically, whilst information sharing improves operational performance when low and high quality information is exchanged, incentive alignment and joint decision making only improve operational performance when the information is of high quality. Originality/value – Although research on the performance impact of collaborative supply chain practices has advanced over the past decade, there is still a scarcity of research acknowledging the multidimensional nature of collaboration. Additionally, the importance of information quality for the success of collaborative practices has not been firmly established. The paper addresses this void in the literature by reporting results of an empirical study examining collaborative supply chains and practices within the German automotive industry. The paper will thus be beneficial to supply chain managers considering collaborative practices and will support further empirical research work in the collaborative supply chain research field.