Discussion
This study draws on corporate entrepreneurship characteristics, social network
perspective and resource-based view to explain the antecedents of SCM practices. Prior
studies suggest that firms with better resources are likely to create more effective
business operations because of the competitive advantages they glean from these
unique resources. Our study contributes to the literature by adding behavioral explanations to the research stream. That is, drawing on corporate entrepreneurship
and social capital theories, we link firm behavioral factors to their resources
and thus help explains SCM practices. Overall, our analysis of survey data from the
ASEAN automotive industry validates our major premise: Both corporate
entrepreneurship and social capital play important roles in SCM practices. Our
findings also confirm the positive and significant associations of innovativeness,
proactiveness, supplier relationships, and customer relationships with SCM practices.
This implies that entrepreneurship and social capital theories offer alternative
perspectives to explain SCM practices. Contrary to the literature, we find that traditional
resource-based variables, such as product advantages, have insignificant effects. At first
glance, this finding appears paradoxical, but a possible ex post explanation may be
that many of the respondents already have Quality Management System Certifications
(ISO9001, ISO/TS16949) and formal TQM or other continuous improvement
programs, so intense competition in the global automotive industry requires firms to
focus their SCM practices on leveraging firm behavioral factors rather than on resourcebased
factors