Abstract
AbstractWhile social media has become an integral part of modern‐day life, it is a largely overlooked topic in supply chain business‐to‐business setting. This study utilizes dyadic survey data collected from both supplier account managers and their customers to explore social media's impacts in the digitalized supply chain context. Drawing upon the knowledge‐based view of the firm, the study proposes and tests a conceptual model. Results indicate that supplier account manager's social media use can increase his or her product and competitor knowledge, which can positively influence customer outcome. Further, the moderation test suggests that when perceived customer demandingness is high, the relationship between social media use and knowledge will be stronger. This study draws much‐needed attention to social media as an emerging digital supply chain management too.
Highlights
In recent years, the concept of a customer-centric supply chain has gained momentum due to “a perfect storm of forces including changes in the market, changes within the customer base, changes in technology and changes within the supply chain itself” (Melnyk & Stanton, 2017, p. 10)
During the exploratory phase of agenda formulation for the development program, it was confirmed by top management that firms operating within their industry are increasingly using social media platforms to facilitate their business operations
supplier account manager (SAM) reported the use of popular social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to interact and remain in touch with customers
Summary
The concept of a customer-centric supply chain has gained momentum due to “a perfect storm of forces including changes in the market, changes within the customer base, changes in technology and changes within the supply chain itself” (Melnyk & Stanton, 2017, p. 10). Specific to the current research context, if SAMs effectively utilize social media to stay in close contact with customers, suppliers, logistics service providers, and other relevant supply chain members, they will be able to collect useful information and develop valuable knowledge regarding products and competitors. The product and competitor knowledge that a SAM obtains through social media contains a wide range of perspectives from different supply chain parties and can enable the company to detect/solve problems, identify opportunities, and generate ideas for improving quality, processes, and customer satisfaction (Chae et al 2020; Lam et al 2016). Individual customers might use social media to share specific tips or precautions of using certain products While this process is explicit knowledge transfer, constant social media interactions between a SAM and many customers over time can help him or her develop up-to-date crucial tacit knowledge from customers or users’ perspectives.
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