Supply Chain Performance: A Meta Analytical Approach and its Future Prospects

Primary purpose of this paper is to develop a context-dependent, multi-perspective and multilevel concept called 'supply chain performance'; second to classify literature available on supply chain performance. The field related to performance among supply chain partners has historically been collected through studies in micro-functional areas. While some effort towards producing a broader organizational perspective has been made, nonetheless, performance in SCM continues to be largely eclectic with little consensus on its conceptualization and research methodological bases. A number of key findings emerged: consensus is lacking on the definition of the term; research on supply chain performance emphasizes to focus on financial goals and negligible attention is given to non-financial parameters, such as, customer satisfaction, responsiveness of the supply chain and competitive advantages. Lack of theories related to competitive aspect of SCPis also found. This review paper has attempted to identify various conceptual and research methodological aspects of supply chain performance along with its classification and various systems followed for the evaluation of performance among partners. This review may be one of the first to develop a context for multi-perspective multilevel concept called performance among supply chain members in Indian context.