The knowledge of coordination for supply chain integration

Abstract Increasing competition due to market globalisation, product diversity and technological breakthroughs stimulates independent firms to collaborate in a supply chain that allows them to gain mutual benefits. This requires the collective know-how of the coordination mode, including the ability to synchronise interdependent processes, to integrate information systems and to cope with distributed learning. However, research into coordination has paid little attention to acknowledging different modes of coordination. This study promotes the notion of mutuality and the focus of coordination in order to establish a comprehensive taxonomy of coordination modes. Four different modes of coordination have been identified: logistics synchronisation, information sharing, incentive alignment, and collective learning. The knowledge of coordination is then proposed as an explicit understanding about key drivers of coordination modes that have positive impacts on supply chain performance. This paper also presents a research agenda.