On the relationship between financial performance and position of businesses in supply chain networks

Abstract

We investigate how the network position of organisations in an extended supply chain network impacts their financial performance. The paper argues that performance measurement tools should incorporate a network (external, connectedness) perspective in addition to an internal financial perspective. We merge local networks of companies in a supply chain into a single, extended network in which the transactional value-flows on arcs are known. Network position characteristics of focal companies are determined using social network analysis. The impact of these characteristics on financial performance is studied using regression analysis. In the context of our case study, there is some evidence that profitability is related to connectedness and market share. In this way, the paper describes how organisations might enrich their performance measurement tools with connectedness metrics.