Journal of Enterprise Information Management Integration through orchestration : the interplay between enterprise systems & inventory management capabilities

Purpose: Examine the mechanisms through which the use of enterprise systems (ES) enhances buyer-supplier integration (BSI). More specifically, we explain a model where ES enhances BSI indirectly, mediated by inventory management capabilities (IMC), as the way ES enhances BSI remains under-explored in the literature. Design/methodology/approach: Application of the resource orchestration framework to explain how capabilities and mechanisms interplay to enhance BSI. Data was collected by means of a survey instrument. Data collection took place as part of a larger project, sponsored by the Spanish government, to evaluate logistics competitiveness in Spain. Findings: ES enhances BSI by serving as a coordinating mechanism that maintains capability configurations in a value-creating alignment. IMC plays a key, yet under-explored role as a mediating mechanism that supports ES-enabled BSI. Research limitations/implications: First, this research does not fully capture the multi-party nature of the supply chain context. Second, data collection was limited to firms that were more likely to have a systematic approach to logistics issues (i.e. large and medium-sized companies) based in Spain. Originality/value: This paper integrates literature from different fields (e.g. strategy, information systems and operations) to enhances both scholarly and practitioner understanding of the mechanisms through which ES affects BSI