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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between geographical traits consisting of institutional traits and cultural traits, and supply chain agility in third-party logistics providers.

A theoretical model was developed and assessed through a structured questionnaire survey using cross-sectional data from 170 third-party logistics providers registered in Uganda. To validate the suggested model, data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis, correlations and regressions.

Correlation results revealed that all institutional and cultural geographical traits in the model, i.e. infrastructural frameworks, regulatory frameworks, organisational culture and national culture are positively and significantly associated with supply chain agility. However, a further analysis using regression revealed that regulatory framework and organisational culture are the only significant predictors of supply chain agility and together, all the four traits account for 28.1% variance in supply chain agility.

This study applies the institutional theoretical framework to provide an empirical understanding of the role of institutional and cultural factors in supply chain management practice. Furthermore, it confirms and expands on the existing theories about supply chain agility.

The findings provide firm ground for managerial decisions regarding emphasis on external factors in building firms' supply chain agility. Managers should scan the macro-environment and make conscious firm decisions regarding institutions and culture in certain geographical locations. The host countries should also be aware of their role in building firms' supply chain agility.

Distinctive from the literature on antecedents of supply chain agility, which predominantly focuses on the firm and supply chain capabilities, this study utilises the paradigm of institutional fit to empirically show how managers in a developing country wishing to build supply chain agility should not only focus on their supply chains and internal operations, but go beyond and consider geographical traits when making firm location and/or operational decisions for certain geographical contexts in order to achieve fit.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between information technology (IT) capabilities, information integration and supply chain resilience within the context of a developing country.

Employing a structured questionnaire survey, the study collected cross-sectional data from 205 agro-food processing firms in Uganda, drawn from a sample of 248. The data were subsequently analyzed using SPSS version 27 to validate the hypothesized relationships.

The study findings revealed that IT capabilities and information integration are positively and significantly associated with supply chain resilience. Moreover, it established a positive and significant link between IT capabilities and information integration. The results further revealed both IT capabilities and information integration account for 62.2% of the variance in supply chain resilience (SCRES) in agro-food processing firms in Uganda. Notably, the findings revealed the partial mediating role of information integration, addressing the need to understanding the mechanisms through which IT capabilities influence SCRES.

First, the study used a cross-sectional design which makes it difficult to test causality. Some of the study variables need to be studied over time due to their inherent behavioral elements such as collaboration and information sharing. Hence, future research that could, where possible, collect longitudinal data on the study variables would add value to the findings. Second, the study was limited to agro-food processing firms in Uganda in selected districts of Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono and Jinja. Further research needs to be done in other sectors such as service industry and other geographical locations in Uganda and other developing economies to provide more generality of the findings. Third, the study was based on IT capabilities, information integration and supply chain resilience. There are other variables that affect supply chain resilience such as business continuity planning strategy, interactions between teams within an organization in building resilience, supply chain velocity, system orientation and flexibility among others which can be interesting for further research.

Managers are advised to motivate their IT-related personnel. Efficient use of IT systems by staff, especially who are skillful at self-study, enhances their ability to respond to disruptions accordingly. This enhances SCRES. Additionally, to get feedback from supply chain stakeholders, agro-food processing firms should assess the quality of their supply chain services through using IT capabilities as well as integrating their information.

This study contributes to existing literature by adopting information processing perspective to provide an empirical understanding of IT capabilities and information integration as key resources and capabilities essential for information processing in building SCRES. Furthermore, the study introduces the novel insight of the mediating role of information integration as a pathway in which IT capabilities enhance SCRES in agro-food processing firms in Uganda.

This study focused on establishing the mediating role of opportunistic behavior in the relationship between institutional pressures and procurement cycle time (PCT) in Uganda’s central government (CG) procuring and disposing entities (PDEs). The study also sought to establish the relationship between institutional pressures and PCT, between institutional pressures and opportunity behavior and between opportunistic behavior and PCT. This study was carried out because most PDEs had failed to perform well in terms of PCT, and beneficiaries had often complained of the lengthy PCT.

The unit of analysis was 126 CG PDEs within Uganda while the unit of inquiry was three employees per PDE, namely, giving a total of 378 respondents. Using a quantitative cross-sectional survey, the study realized a response rate of 88% for the unit of analysis and 71.7% for unit of inquiry. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS 4 with focus on ascertaining regression and mediation results.

The findings show that institutional pressures negatively and significantly predict both institutional pressures and PCT (ß = –0.569**; ß = –0.688**, respectively). Also, institutional pressures and opportunistic behavior are significant predictors of PCT, predicting 60.6% change in PCT. Furthermore, opportunity behavior partially moderates the relationship between institutional pressures and PCT.

For Uganda’s CG PDEs to reduce procurement delays and to procure within PCT, they should put more emphasis on institutional pressures and curtailing opportunistic behavior. The study recommends further amendment of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) Act 2003 to reduce delays.

There is need for further amendment of the PPDA Act 2003 to reduce delays, especially those attributed to approvals by contracts committee and the minimum bidding period for competitive bidding.

The study explores PCT and its antecedents whose understanding is critical in exploring avenues of reducing PCT and boosting service delivery to the beneficiaries.

The PPDA Act (2003) was amended in 2014, but still the time spent in the procurement processes has remained long, hence delaying or denying citizens service delivery. This is a matter of concern to the country at large and may spill into political unrests, and yet, there is scant literature exploring PCT and its antecedents. This makes the present study one of the pioneer empirical studies on PCT, with emphasis on Uganda. This study provides a framework for examining PCT in a context where scholarly explanation of PCT is still limited.