The Influences of the Fit between Manufacturer and Distributor Information-Sharing Motives on Information Flow Elements and Manufacturer Flexibility Performance

However, restricted by accessibility, manufacturers usually rely on distributors to provide market information. Under such circumstance, if distributors can’t foresee the benefits of sharing information with manufacturers and realize the importance of sharing information in such partner relationships, they may keep private information undisclosed.

And it will impede manufacturers to improve their flexibility performance. On these grounds, this study examined the influences of the fit between manufacturer and distributor information-sharing motives on information flow elements, that is the degree of information technology integration, information communication quality, and information-sharing intensity, and in turn on manufacturer flexibility performance, including volume flexibility, delivery flexibility, product flexibility, and responsiveness flexibility.