Operational cooperation (OC) has enhanced the ability of firms to cope with uncertainty and stiff co mpetition through supply chain collaboration. In this study, previous supply chain frameworks are extended to include OC as a mediator in the relat ionship between supply chain practices (SCPs) and firm performance (FP). Responses from 201 small manufacturing firms and structural equation modeling were used to test the proposed structural model. The data showed that the relationship between SCPs

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... and FP is mediated by OC. The findings are particularly important for small manufacturers owing to resource paucity and the need to collectively draw upon both SCPs and OC in order to ensure a sustainable FP.