Jaber Ghanbari - Department of Accounting, Aliabad Katoul Branch, Islamic Azad University, Aliabad Katoul, Iran.
Ebrahim Abbasi - Department of Management, Al-Zahra University, Tehran, Iran.
Hosein Didekhani - Department of Financial Engineering, Aliabad Katoul Branch, Islamic Azad University, Aliabad Katoul, Iran.
Majid Ashrafi - Department of Accounting, Aliabad Katoul Branch, Islamic Azad University, Aliabad Katoul, Iran.

The present study investigated the role of strategic cost management as a moderating variable on the relationship between supply chain practices, Top Management Support (TMS), and financial performance improvement. Financial performance improvement was considered as a dependent variable, while supply chain practices, strategic cost management, and TMS were taken as the main independent variables. Besides, the financial structure and the firm size were considered as control variables. The research sample included ۱۶۵ companies that were selected using random sampling from among companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. The data were collected using the Senior Management Survey (SMS) to measure supply chain practices, TMS, and strategic cost management. The results of the structural equation modeling after discriminant tests showed that strategic cost management had a positive and significant effect on the relationship between different subscales of supply chain practices and different measures of financial performance improvement. The results also showed that the relationship between strategic cost management, senior management support, supply chain activities and improving financial performance is non-linear and so that Supply Chain Integration (SCI) is more effective at low and medium levels and at higher levels. The above has a lesser or even negative effect.

Cost management, Strategic Costs, Top Management Support (TMS), financial performance, Supply chain