The effect of organizational culture on supply chain management in uncertain environments

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of environmental uncertainty (EU) on supply chain management (SCM) in Korea, and assess the moderating role of organizational culture. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data analysis was conducted on data that were collected from 125 Korean manufacturing firms listed on the Korean Stock Exchange. First, structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized paths. Second, multi-group analysis was used to explore the possibility of differences between groups with diverse organizational cultures. Before testing the measurement model, confirmatory factor analysis was run to test the reliability and validity of the measurement items. Findings The findings indicate that all the hypotheses on the relationships between EU, SCM antecedents and SCM activities are supported except the relationship between commitment and cooperation. The outcome of the multi-group analysis shows that the impact of EU on SCM antecedents varies across organizational cultures. Originality/value This study proposes managerial guidelines for implementing effective SCM in response to EU and emphasize that these are consistent with organizational culture.