Roles of supply chain network centralities on firm performance: an explorative study on Tokyo manufacturing industries

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the impact of supply chain centralities on sales performance moderated by reputation and stock listing. Design/methodology/approach: Empirical data on supply chain relationships were drawn from the context of electronics and electrical appliance industries in Tokyo, sourced from Teikoku Data Bank in year 2017–2018. On average, the authors analyzed an industrial network of 4,181 focal firms with 3.6 and 3.8 supplier and customer ties, respectively, using social networks and moderated regression analyses. Findings: The authors find that in-(out-)degree, closeness and betweenness centralities are positively related to the focal firm’s annual sales performance. Hubs and authorities as ways of measuring reputation are found to not directly affect performance; hubs negatively moderate the relationship between betweenness and performance. Stock-listing was also found to negatively moderate the relationship between in-degree centrality and performance. Originality/value: This study adds to existing literature by conducting a supply network analysis in a new industrial context, introducing a new method for assessing firm reputation in supply networks and showing how the structural characteristics of supply networks influence business performance.