The Critical Role of Trust, Information Sharing, and Agility in Advancing Sustainable Supply Chain Performance in Korea

Competition between supply chains is significant, making it crucial for companies to continuously strive for supply chain competitiveness. Therefore, this study suggests trust, information sharing, and supply chain agility as key elements in supply chain management (SCM) and explores their impact on sustainable SCM performance. This study conducted surveys among companies that are establishing supply chains in Korea. In total, 332 valid questionnaires were included in the statistical analysis. A structural equation model based on SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 23.0 confirmed that trust has a positive effect on information sharing and supply chain agility, information sharing has a significant positive effect on supply chain agility, and supply chain agility has a significant positive effect on sustainable SCM performance. These findings suggest that companies can enhance their sustainable supply chain performance by prioritizing trust-building, facilitating smooth information sharing, and maintaining agility in their supply chain operations. Practical implementations include fostering closer cooperative relationships with trading partners, leveraging trust-based information sharing to reduce costs, and encouraging agile practices to stay competitive in uncertain environments. By doing so, companies, particularly in the manufacturing sector, can achieve improved performance without the need for significant additional investments.