Just How Necessary Are Firm's Logistics Capabilities For Its Supply Chain Visibility? A Necessary Condition Analysis

This study makes a small contribution to the field of logistics and the supply chain management industry. Drawing on theory and previous empirical findings, and employing necessary condition analysis, we sought to establish necessary conditions amongst several logistics capabilities and firm supply chain visibility. More specifically, we asked whether information sharing, social capital, collaboration, and integration - as four key capabilities – are necessary for improved firms’ visibility within its supply chain. Analysis of data collected from a sample of 196 experienced and certified supply chain managers suggests that information sharing, social capital and integration are indeed necessary ingredients for improved firm visibility. Collaboration as a capability, while emerging as important and substantive, failed to meet one of NCA’s necessity criteria and hence is deemed unnecessary for firm visibility. Theoretical, practical, and methodological contributions are discussed, along with possible limitations and future research direction