Supply Chain Strategies and Operations Performance of Firms: The Mediating Effect of Firms' Financial Position

The study examined the relationships between supply chain strategies (SCS) and the operations performance of retail firms in the Food & Beverage (F&B) industry in Ghana and further ascertain whether the relationships are mediated by the financial position of these firms. Data were collected from 300 firms using a questionnaire. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed for the data analysis. SCS was measured by agile, lean and leagile constructs, whilst efficiency and responsiveness measured operations performance. The results show that whereas the leagile strategy was found to positively impact both efficiency and responsiveness, the agile and lean strategies were found to positively impact responsiveness and efficiency respectively. The financial position of firms was not established to be mediator in the relationship between SCS and the operations performance. The study has established the effect of SCS in the operations of retail firms in the F&B industry. By developing the appropriate SCS, such firms may be able to improve their efficiency and responsiveness knowing that the impact of these strategies is without recourse to their financial positions. The study was undertaken in a developing country hence, the characterising operating conditions may limit the generalisability of the findings.