Analysing Human Factors Of Information Sharing in Supply Chains

Abstract

Information sharing and its quality hold utmost importance for supply chains (SCs) yet understanding of the role of willingness to share information, its antecedents and its impact on information quality lacks research. For this purpose, based on information sharing theory (IST) from knowledge and information sharing discipline, this research examines the impact of social exchange theory factors (trust, commitment, reciprocity and power), psychological subjective wellbeing factors (job and life satisfaction), and IT infrastructure capability (ITIC) on willingness to share information and its quality. A sequential exploratory mixed methods design approach is implemented. The exploratory phase based on a case study proposes a taxonomy and ontology to analyse human factors regarding data availability discussed using social exchange theory (subset of information sharing theory). The quantitative phase then develops further theoretical model and research hypotheses, which are then tested on 387 respondents and model fit using structural equation modelling and path analysis. Mediation and moderation analyses include latest Hayes PROCESS Models and multiple approaches. The exploratory phase findings indicate that along with technical issues, humans and their attitudes are equally important factors in data sharing. While the quantitative phase shows that attitude of willingness is crucial for information sharing quality; ITIC, trust, commitment, reciprocity and life satisfaction are shown to be significant factors for willingness to share information, however, surprisingly, power and job satisfaction are not significant. The limitations of the exploratory phase include selection of the scenarios and factors included in the taxonomy to be partly arbitrary. Moreover, a single case study was conducted. Whereas in the quantitative phase, survey data were used and scope was limited to SCs. In addition, willingness to share and information sharing quality were self-reported by the respondents. A cross-culture and a cross-industry analysis can improve the generalisability of these results in future. This research highlights human factors in regards to information sharing issues in SC scope. To perform effectively, SC managers require data/information, which is usually assumed to be available. This study shows human factor (and attitude) of willingness to share information is an integral part of this sharing. Trust, commitment, reciprocity of managers with their SC partners influence willingness to share information. Access to proper IT capabilities and satisfaction with life show a positive effect on willingness to share information, whereas, high power may play a role in unwilling sharing of information. Moreover, the proposed information-sharing model is not only statistically valid for SC context but also provides a social-psychological understanding of the antecedents of human willingness to share information, which is crucial to sharing quality information.