Integrated Supply Chain in Solar Energy Sector

The aim of this study is to find the entities of supply chain that establish integration in supply chain activities of solar energy sector. It is précised to examine logistics, procurement and purchasing, sourcing and manufacturing phases of supply chain in explaining integrated supply chain. The paradigm of this research is past-positivism as it initiates a newer relationship between underlying variables. The sample size for the data collection was chosen by random sampling technique and a number of 203 respondents participated for primary data. The respondents were selected from top 12 solar energy companies in Karachi, where manufacturers, their suppliers and logistics partners were surveyed with minimal exposure of the researcher in a non-contrived environment. This research provides evidences for positive and negative significant impacts of sourcing and manufacturing in creating supply chain integration respectively, while the impacts of logistics, procurement and purchasing impacts were positive but insignificant. This research is beneficial for students who are pursuing their majors in supply chain and it also provides some measures for those who are involved in solar energy sector to improve their manufacturing deficiencies in order to positively influence integration in supply chain. Further, the data of this research is analyzed through SMART-PLS and SPSS. The data is found reliable and all the constructs are found discriminant under all statistical tools. Moreover, linear and multiple regressions were also analyzed to conclude the path coefficients and degree of influence between variables.