Demand-pull vs supply-push strategy: the effects of organizational structure on supply chain integration and response capabilities

Purpose Rapid response is often the cornerstone of success in many industries, especially manufacturing. In the authors' opinion, organizational structure will also affect the construction of a fast-response supply chain system. The main purpose of this research examines whether different levels of organizational structure have different effects on the relationship between external integration and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach This study applied questionnaires to collect data. This study collected 818 questionnaires from manufacturers in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to verify our proposed model using structural equation modeling. Findings Results show that response speed perfectly mediates the relationship between external integration and firm performance. Different levels of organizational structure will also affect external integration. Strict organizational structure requires customer integration, while loose organizational structure requires supplier integration to quickly meet customer needs. Practical implications Companies can probably determine whether their organizational structure is higher or lower than that of their competitors. If firms can determine that their organization structure is high or low, they can adopt suitable external integrations to enhance quick response and operational performance. Originality/value In the relationship between supply chain integration and performance, we consider a mediating variable and moderating variable together. Results explain the reason that the relationship between supply chain integration and performance are inconsistent in previous studies. We have addressed external integration in alignment with organizational structure to provide better service and enhance performance by providing empirical evidence.