Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Appliquées à la Gestion

The purpose of this paper is to study the following research question: how can information systems (ISs) be the real sources of uncertainty for supply chain management (SCM), despite their positive roles in the effectiveness of modern supply chain (SC) organization? Design/methodology/approach– AtypologyoftheuncertaintieslinkedtoISsandtheirusageisdeveloped. Then, five explanatory case studies conducted in diverse industries allow to characterize this typology. Findings– The casestudiesallowtoidentifythemostfrequentlyrecurringuncertainties,namely,“limitedIS capacity” and “data unreliability.” In addition, “company size” does not seem to be a relevant dimension for assessing the vulnerability of a SC to uncertainties linked to ISs. On the other hand, the “business sector,” with its implied power influences, was found to be a relevant dimension. Researchlimitations/implications– Thisresearchdoesnotallowtorankuncertaintiesaccordingtotheir level of criticality. Practical implications – This paper enables SC and information systems managers, as well as ISs/SC project managers to be aware of the need to consider ISs not only as the vectors for performance, but also as the factors for uncertainty in SCs. Originality/value – ISs are generally considered to be a vector of performance. Nevertheless, their use remainsproblematicin manycompanies.This paper falls withinboth the ISs and SCM research areas. In the latter field, typologies of the uncertainties are common, but often ignore the uncertainties linked to ISs and theirusage.The authors suggest envisaging ISsasthepotentialfactorsforuncertaintyinthecontextofSCM