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Complete

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The characteristics of suppliers in multi-tier supply chains have drawn more attention recently in the post-pandemic age. Due to the increasing reliance on suppliers, information-communication technology (ICT) buying firms expect to map out their upstream suppliers to identify the characteristics of those suppliers, which might affect their performance. In this paper, we utilize horizontal, vertical, and spatial complexities to examine how complex characteristics of the first- and second-tier suppliers affect the ICT buying firms’ financial performance. Our empirical test shows that ICT buying firms’ sales growth is affected by multi-tier suppliers from different industries. Our results bring insights into the role of multi-tier suppliers and their effects on ICT buying firms’ financial performance. The research findings contribute to the literature on the complexity of multi-tier supply chains. We also provide practical implications for managers from ICT firms to improve their decision-making and collaboration with multi-tier suppliers.

Paper Number

1928

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Aug 10th, 12:00 AM

Multi-tier Supply Chain Complexity and Buyer Performance in ICT Industry

The characteristics of suppliers in multi-tier supply chains have drawn more attention recently in the post-pandemic age. Due to the increasing reliance on suppliers, information-communication technology (ICT) buying firms expect to map out their upstream suppliers to identify the characteristics of those suppliers, which might affect their performance. In this paper, we utilize horizontal, vertical, and spatial complexities to examine how complex characteristics of the first- and second-tier suppliers affect the ICT buying firms’ financial performance. Our empirical test shows that ICT buying firms’ sales growth is affected by multi-tier suppliers from different industries. Our results bring insights into the role of multi-tier suppliers and their effects on ICT buying firms’ financial performance. The research findings contribute to the literature on the complexity of multi-tier supply chains. We also provide practical implications for managers from ICT firms to improve their decision-making and collaboration with multi-tier suppliers.

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