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management also puts emphasis on lowering stock levels and relative costs (Ding, Guo and Liu, 2011), growing profits and upgrading cooperation (Droge, Vickery and Jacobs, 2012; Delgado and Mills, 2017). In this respect, it is safe to say that SCM has inevitably grown since its inception.
Many things have been modified in the growth of this process, and many supply chain management terms have been formulated. Supply chain management is a comprehensive idea, which has attracted recognition in multiple segments in the global community, which is also covered in this study. This section has reflected on the well-known terms in the field of supply chain and its management in general. The next section discusses the understanding of management information sharing and also considers the information-sharing framework, which involves the supply chain business processes.
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members and causing a smoother and more proper functioning and integration of the supply chain (Nazifa and Ramachandran, 2019). The information flow in business organisations and especially in supply chains impacts productivity and transformation because it regulates the rate by which individuals can react and future activities (Wu, Huberman, Adamic and Tyler, 2005;
Papadopoulos et al., 2017). It is therefore evident that the flow of information requires to be controlled in supply chain management. The efficient information flow measurement should outline an essential segment of information flow efficiency in supply chain management literature.
The formal management attention is necessitated by the clear significance of the flow of information in the performance of the supply chain. Management information (MI) is a concept that has been understood and described in several ways (Wagner, Kawulich and Garner, 2012;
Alonso-Almeida, Perramon and Bagur-Femenías, 2020). MI is described as a method which offers information support to make decisions within the organisation. Furthermore, MI is also perceived as a combined method of man and machine for rendering the information to strengthen the operations, the management and the decision-making process in the organisation. Wagner et al. (2012) defined MI as a system based on the organisation’s database that is enhanced to give information to the people within the organisation.
Despite having various definitions, all of them connect on one single point, i.e. MI is a support system for decision-making processes within the organisation. The differentiation point is when defining the elements of the MI. However, MI is a business processing method that generates information for people in the organisation to encounter the information requirements and assist in decision making to accomplish the organisational goals (Alonso-Almeida et al., 2020).
MI provides information that organisations require to manage themselves efficiently and effectively. Tocan (2012) and Ballou (2004) noted that MI consisted of five primary components namely: hardware, software, data (i.e. information and knowledge flows for decision-making), procedures (i.e. design, development and documentation), and people (individuals, groups and work-related teams). MI is distinct from other information systems because it is used to analyse and facilitate strategic and operational activities. Academically, the term is commonly used to
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refer to the study of how individuals, groups and organisations evaluate, design, implement, manage and utilise systems to generate information to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of decision-making. This includes systems termed decision support systems, expert systems, and executive information systems (Oye, Mazleena and Noorminshah, 2012).
Table 2.1: Management information sharing definitions
Source Level Management of Information Sharing Johnson, Scholes and
Whittingtton (2006) Within teams The level at which team members share information with one another.
Stasser and Titus
(1987) Within groups How the information is disseminated among group members before it is discussed.
Calantone, Cavusgil and Zhao (2002)
Within an organisation
A collective belief or behavioural routines related to the spread of learning among different units within an organisation.
Wu (2008) Between
organisations
The mutual sharing of business and market information between exchange partners.
Dawes (2016) Between organisations
The exchanging of information between and across government agencies or otherwise giving them access to information.
This study regards management information sharing as the application of dynamic capabilities.
Teece, Pisano and Shuen (1997) defined dynamic capacities as the ability to sense and shape opportunities and threats and maintain competitiveness. This is done by enhancing, combining, protecting, and re-configuring the business enterprise’s intangible and tangible assets, in which sensing and shaping new opportunities is very much a scanning, creating, learning, and interpreting activity. Information sharing, which has been widely accepted as a learning activity, offers some of the functions of a dynamic capability, such as sensing and learning external knowledge, providing a key micro-foundation of dynamic capabilities (Nazifa and Ramachandran, 2019). Eisenhardt and Martin (2000) also argued that acquisitions and alliances can be considered dynamic capabilities because they allow for the renewal and reconfiguration of
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a firm’s resources. In a study of alliance learning and alliance success, Kale and Singh (2007) used information sharing as a dimension of dynamic capabilities.
Information sharing in the supply chain context refers to the extent to which operational and strategic information is available to members of the supply chain. Mohr and Spekman (1994) defined information sharing as the degree of exchange of critical information between a buyer and a supplier. Lee and Chuah (2001) referred to information sharing as activities of transferring or disseminating information from one person, group, or organisation to another.
Organisational information sharing refers to the process through which organisational actors (teams, units, organisations) exchange, receive, and are influenced by the experience and information of others (Van Wijk and Finchilescu, 2008). Flynn, Huo and Zhao (2010) referred to information sharing as the degree to which key information content, such as inventory, planning, and capacity, is shared. Some studies have defined information transfer processes in alternative but related ways, such as information transfer (Mowery, Oxley and Silverman, 1996; Tsai, 2001), information flows (Gupta and Govindarajan, 2000), and information acquisition (Lyles and Salk, 1996).
Table 2.2: Main definitions of information sharing
Study Definition
Mohr and Spekman (1994) Information sharing is the degree of exchange of critical information between a buyer and a supplier.
Li and Lin (2006)
Information sharing is in terms of quality (i.e. timeliness, accuracy, completeness, adequateness and reliability) and contents,
Flynn et al. (2010) Describe information sharing as the level of sharing of vital information content, such as stock, planning, and capacity.
Wu (2008) Information sharing refers to the mutual sharing of business and market information between exchange partners.
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