The impact of supply chain relationship quality on knowledge sharing and innovation performance: evidence from Chinese manufacturing industry

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact mechanism of supply chain relationship quality on knowledge sharing and firms’ innovation performance during supply chain collaborative innovation. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual model linking supply chain relationship quality, knowledge sharing and firms’ innovation performance is developed, and the hypotheses of the relationships among them are proposed. To test these hypotheses with structural equation modeling, this study conducts a survey of 287 Chinese manufacturing firms that carried out collaborative innovation with supply chain partners. Findings Supply chain relationship quality has a significant positive effect on tacit knowledge sharing but its positive effect on explicit knowledge sharing is not significant. Both explicit and tacit knowledge sharing across supply chain enterprises positively influence firms’ innovation performance. Supply chain relationship quality influences firms’ innovation performance directly as well as indirectly through the mediating roles of explicit and tacit knowledge sharing. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence of supply chain relationship quality’s direct and indirect effects through explicit and tacit knowledge sharing on firms’ innovation performance. This study also provides supply chain practitioners with better understanding of the importance of developing relationship quality and knowledge sharing across supply chain as they are positively associated with firms’ innovation performance.