Optimizing firm's supply chain resilience in data-driven business environment

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of a firm’s supply chain capabilities on supply chain resilience, and the impact of supply chain resilience on sustainable supply chain performance in a data-driven business environment. The study also aims to explore the function of supply chain resilience in mediating the relationship between a firm’s supply chain capability and sustainable supply chain performance.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were acquired through a survey of 310 managers of small- and medium-sized businesses in a variety of industries across Bangladesh. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling.FindingsA firm’s supply chain capabilities include information technology, leadership and collaboration. Supply chain capability is positively associated with supply chain resilience. The resilience of a firm’s supply chain is also positively correlated with its sustainable supply chain performance. Supply chain resilience plays a mediating role in the relationship between a firm’s supply chain capabilities and its sustainable supply chain performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides a theoretical contribution by corroborating practical knowledge focusing on firms’ supply chain capability, supply chain resilience and sustainable supply chain performance by using a resource-based view and dynamic capability theory – a relevant and unexplored subject in the supply chain literature – and proposes several opportunities for future research.Practical implicationsThe results highlight the study’s managerial and social relevance from the perspective of firms in developing countries. As firms shift toward an online environment, managers and decision-makers need to make strategic decisions, as they did to overcome the challenges presented by COVID-19.Originality/valueThe study’s findings demonstrate that firms’ supply chain capabilities can be leveraged to increase supply chain resilience. Firms’ resilience during COVID-19 allowed them to avoid losses and to improve their supply chain’s sustainable performance. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, their complex higher order model is a unique contribution to the literature on firms’ supply chain capability and extends previous research on this topic.