Conceptualizing the relative openness of supply chain and its impact on organizational performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework conceptualizing the relative openness of a supply chain and its impact on organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach – The literature on system theory and the attributes of supply chain management are used to develop a framework describing the relative openness of a supply chain. Findings – Different supply chain terminologies – such as adaptive supply chain network, best value supply chain, and open inter-organizational system – partially draw upon the basic premises of an open system. The relative openness of a supply chain and, consequently, the dynamics of different supply chain attributes remain understudied. This supports the idea that an open system perspective of the supply chain is imperative to improve the understanding of the influence of supply chain openness on organizational performance. Originality/value – The conceptual framework posits that different supply chain attributes affect the openness of supply chain to a varying degree which ultimately influences the organizational performance. The proposed framework and research propositions will serve as a springboard for conducting future empirical studies.