Abstract

     Although many firms are aggressively deploying diverse digital technologies (DTs) at inter- and intra-organizational levels, not all firms have achieved the anticipated resilience, especially in the face of supply chain disruptions caused by “black swan” events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. To demystify this phenomenon, we draw on the asset orchestration perspective to investigate how breadth (i.e., the scope) and depth (i.e., the scale) of DT deployment influence a firm’s resilience to supply chain disruptions. Survey data from 162 Chinese manufacturing firms show that the depth of DT deployment exerts a positive effect on firm resilience. Interestingly, the breadth has a non-significant effect on firm resilience. Moreover, while the breadth and depth of DT deployment both enhance supply chain coordination, supply chain coordination mediates only the relationship between DT deployment depth and firm resilience. Finally, market acuity positively moderates the relationship between supply chain coordination and firm resilience. We contribute to the literature by providing new theoretical explanations for the inconsistency in the reported relationship between technology deployment and resilience. Our study also helps firms reevaluate their DT deployment.

Introduction

     In today’s volatile and unpredictable environment, every firm is vulnerable to disruption in the supply chain (Kalubanga & Gudergan, 2022; Kumar & Sharma, 2021). For example, over 86% of global supply chains were disrupted and 94% of the global top 1000 firms suffered supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak (Singh, Kumar, Panchal, & Tiwari, 2020). Given that supply chain disruptions impair the flow of products or services along a supply chain and further incurs negative consequences on operational, financial, and market performance (Kalubanga & Gudergan, 2022), firms need to be able to deal with them effectively (Blessley & Mudambi, 2022). A firm’s resilience to supply chain disruptions refers to the ability of a firm to sense, adapt to, and quickly respond to the changes imposed in the supply chain (Ambulkar, Blackhurst, & Grawe, 2015), and it is widely regarded as an effective way to manage risk and recover (Gölgeci & Kuivalainen, 2020).

Conclusion

     Drawing on the asset orchestration perspective, we investigate how the breadth and depth of DT deployment may affect a firm’s resilience to supply chain disruptions. The empirical results from 162 Chinese manufacturing firms show that DT deployment depth, rather than breadth, has a positive effect on a firm’s resilience to supply chain disruptions. Moreover, although the breadth and depth of DT deployment both enhance supply chain coordination, supply chain coordination mediates only the relationship between DT deployment depth and firm resilience. Lastly, market acuity positively moderates the relationship between supply chain coordination and firm resilience. Our findings provide new explanations for the inconsistency in the reported relationship between technology deployment and resilience, thus making theoretical contributions to the existing literature. Our findings also provide managerial guidance for firms on how to effectively deploy their DTs at inter- and intra-organizational levels.