Research on supply chain management (SCM) highlights that the positive impact of supply chain integration on companies’ performance is questionable. In particular, some authors pinpoint that it is fundamental studying the contextual factors that can influence the need for and success of integration practices. This paper focuses on upstream integration (UI) and the potential moderating effect of lead time reduction. Analyses based on a sample of 187 plants operating in mechanical, electronics and transportation equipment sectors, show that a positive relationship exists between UI and efficiency and schedule attainment performance, and that the impact of UI is positively moderated by short lead times.
