Supply Chain Collaboration under Uncertainty in the Albanian Beer Market

Today supply chain uncertainty is higher due to the global crisis, the fast changing technology and the increasing vulnerability of supply chains. Companies use different strategies to reduce uncertainty, like building agile supply chains, increasing resilience, postponement, etc. All these strategies require strong supply chain collaboration. Although research interest in supply chain collaboration is growing, no research has been done in Albania. This paper is one of the first to investigate supply chain management practices and the extent of supply chain collaboration in the Albanian beer industry. The aim of this research is twofold: first, to investigate how supply chain uncertainty influences the extent of collaboration with the supply chain members, and second, to analyze how organizational culture facilitates the collaboration process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the managers of the main beer companies. A guide questionnaire was prepared. It consisted of open and rate-scale questions about supply chain collaboration, supply chain uncertainty, supply chain management practices and organizational culture. The research will show that a high level of supply chain uncertainty does not always lead to a high degree of collaboration with the supply chain members. Organizational culture is the key driver of a successful collaboration. Not all types of culture can facilitate collaboration but only the ones with an external orientation.