Agility as a combination of lean and supply chain integration: how to achieve a better performance

This paper investigates the antecedents of supply chain agility and its impact on firm's operational performance. Drawing upon dynamic capabilities perspective and contingency theory, the study argues that supply chain agility is a result of the combination of lean manufacturing and supply chain integration practices, and that supply chain agility is positively linked to firm's operational performance. Employing structural equation modelling, this research presents evidence that companies with agile supply chains perform better than companies focused only on implementing lean or supply chain integration practices; in this sense, the results show that supply chain agility fully mediates the relationships between lean/supply chain integration and firm's operational performance. This study contributes to the growing body of conceptual and empirical literature on agility by understanding the synergies between lean manufacturing, supply chain integration, supply chain agility and firm's operational performance. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed and future research perspectives are provided.