Collaboration in supply chain

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to frame collaboration in supply chain as a hierarchical reflective construct. Design/methodology/approach This study uses data from industries in India to test the hierarchical and structural model. Partial least squares method is used to test the model. Findings Results show that collaboration is a third‐order, reflective construct. The paper's findings also arrange collaborative activities in terms of its importance for collaboration. Practical implications Collaboration is a multi‐facet activity and is a meta‐concept, and therefore this paper improves our understanding on the subject. The performance of supply chain collaboration depends on the execution of various activities, and this paper points out how the various activities are related to the collaboration, the execution of which will drive collaborative ventures towards success. Originality/value This paper provides empirical evidence for collaboration as a hierarchical reflective construct. The model is tested by data collected from Industries in India.