Supply Chain Integration and Health Firms’ Operational Performance: Implications for Underdeveloped Countries

Backed by RBV Theory, this study investigated the effect of Supply Chain Integration (SCI) on Operational Performance (OP) of the medical sector. The data were collected from 307 managers out of 330 managers through questionnaire inspired by previous studies and then, they were refined through experts’ interviews and a panel of judges. Statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, correlation, and SEM were employed. The results of the study indicated a significant positive relationship between SCI and the medical sector’s OP. The results also demonstrated that the managers in Medical Sector behaved almost similarly in terms of their preference for customer integration and internal integration indicators. Furthermore, empirical results indicated that the interactions between the two components of SCI affected OP strongly. Moreover, internal integration had the highest effect on OP, followed by customer satisfaction. The research provides theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, the SCI requires a higher level of internal integration. Thus, for an institution to support the participation of partners, it must ensure proper internal integration. Practically, full collaboration of participants and integration of the firm internally and externally should ensure greater performance. Moreover, the study provided a suggestion for future research.