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This study aims to investigate how relational capital derived by the buyer and supplier from the buyer-LSP and supplier-LSP dyads affects buyer-supplier adaptability and their relational performance.

Drawing upon the tenets of Social Capital Theory and Relational View, the authors performed exploratory research using a survey of 350 supply chain triads. Based on these data, the authors used Structural Equation Modeling to estimate the Higher Component Model (HCM) and test the research hypotheses.

The research results indicate that relational capital derived by the supplier from the supplier-LSP dyad has a strong and positive impact on buyer-supplier adaptability. On the other hand, relational capital derived by the buyer from the buyer-LSP dyad has no significant impact on buyer-supplier adaptability. The results also demonstrate that the effect of buyer-supplier adaptability on buyer-supplier relational performance is strong and positive. The obtained findings also suggest that buyer-supplier adaptability acts as a partial mediator between relational capital derived by buyer/supplier from the links with LSP and relational performance.

The study has some limitations that guide directions for future research. First, along with relational capital, it might be worthwhile to also investigate the impact of structural and cognitive capital in supply chain triads to test whether and how these two dimensions of social capital contribute to buyer-supplier adaptability. It could be also interesting to include the LSP’s perception of relational capital in the model to shift the analysis from the organizational to the interorganizational level.

Given the increasing interest in complex structures of supply chains, this study investigates how one dyad affects other dyads in supply chain triads. Specifically, the study develops and empirically tests the construct of relational capital derived from the links with LSPs, and views adaptability as the result of two interacting parties.

Limited research examines the triple-A supply chain of agility, adaptability and alignment. The purpose of this paper is to draw on extant literature under the lens of resource orchestration theory to develop a comprehensive framework of antecedents and consequences of triple-A supply chains, allowing both scholars and practitioners to benchmark and prioritize triple-A capabilities.

A systematic literature review focusing on four supply chain journals is conducted to integrate the distinct bodies of knowledge on supply chain agility, adaptability and alignment.

The integration of this literature identifies common and distinct antecedents and consequences of each, developing a comprehensive model of triple-A supply chains as well as proposing opportunities for further study.

Limited studies to date have an integrated agility, adaptability and alignment, thus lacking a comprehensive framework of triple-A supply chains. Managers can use the findings to determine actions needed to deploy triple-A capabilities and better understand the resulting potential benefits.

Scholars have recently begun to empirically evaluate the triple-A supply chain, which emphasizes concurrent capabilities in agility, adaptability and alignment across the supply chain to develop sustainable competitive advantage. Complexity theory suggests however that other combinations of triple-A capabilities may be equally effective, especially given a firm's strategic orientation relative to its market and its supply chain. Our research objective was to examine what combinations of these capabilities lead to the same outcome (i.e. high firm performance).

We collected 182 survey responses from a global sample of supply chain managers. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was employed to assess effective recipes of agility, adaptability, alignment, supply chain orientation, and market orientation.

Our results revealed four distinct “recipes” (i.e. combinations of agility, adaptability, alignment, supply chain orientation and market orientation) that lead to high levels of firm performance.

Our results indicate that firms currently do not necessarily have to concomitantly develop capabilities across all triple-A components. Considering the costs associated with developing each of these capabilities, the findings allow us to derive several theoretical and managerial insights.

This paper positions market sensing, supply chain agility and supply chain adaptability as a coherent cluster of dynamic supply chain capabilities. The purpose of this paper is to understand how dynamic supply chain capabilities interrelate and their effect on supply chain ambidexterity.

Based on a survey of Pakistani manufacturing firms, a theoretically-derived model was tested in a structural equation model.

The results of the study show that a market-sensing capability is an antecedent of supply chain agility and supply chain adaptability. Furthermore, supply chain agility, directly, and supply chain adaptability, indirectly, affect supply chain ambidexterity. Supply chain agility, therefore, mediates the relationship between supply chain adaptability and supply chain ambidexterity.

The contribution of this study lies in: first, identifying dynamic capability clusters relevant for achieving supply chain ambidexterity; second, evaluating performance implications of dynamic capabilities in the supply chain, specifically supply chain agility and adaptability; and third, proposing a unique measurement of supply chain ambidexterity in the light supply chain theory, and empirically evaluating the relationship between dynamic capabilities and supply chain ambidexterity.

The purpose of this paper is to examine when and how organizations create agility, adaptability, and alignment as distinct supply chain properties to gain sustainable competitive advantage.

The current study utilizes the resource-based view (RBV) under the moderating effect of top management commitment (TMC). To test the research hypotheses, the authors gathered 351 usable responses using a pre-tested questionnaire.

The statistical analyses suggest that information sharing and supply chain connectivity resources influence supply chain visibility capability, which, under the moderating effect of TMC, enhance supply chain agility, adaptability, and alignment (SCAAA).

The contribution lies in: providing a holistic study of the antecedents of agility, adaptability, and alignment; investigating the moderating role of TMC on SCAAA; following the RBV and addressing calls for investigating the role of resources in supply chain management, and for empirical studies with implications for supply chain design.

Drawing on complementarity theory, this paper aims to examine the type and effect of interdependencies/interaction (i.e. complementarity or substitutability) between the supply chain capabilities of agility, adaptability and alignment.

A survey research design is adopted to collect primary and secondary data from 182 international firms. The complementarity (or substitutability) of three As (agile, adaptable and aligned) were analyzed in three-way and pairwise interactions; both, correlation and performance differences methods of testing the type of interactions among the system’s elements were used. Supply chain-centric and firm-centric performance metrics were used to examine the interaction types.

The study did not find empirical evidence of three-way complementarity between the three As. However, this paper did find evidence of complementarity in bivariate interactions for alignment and adaptability. Moreover, in the performance difference method, the study found a substitute relationship between all pairs of As.

The findings related to the substitutability between the three As offer managers guidance on how to allocate their limited resources to avoid unnecessary over-or under-investing in either one of the three As.

This study helps refine prior findings related to the three As by offering evidence that firms can still achieve their performance-related goals with reduced investment commitments by taking advantage of the substitutability relationship existent between these capabilities. That is, instead of concomitantly developing all three As as past studies have suggested, managers can use the findings to determine how to prioritize their resource allocation better. Furthermore, understanding the actual interaction among the supply chain variables generally provide insights for designing the supply chain, change management in the supply chain, developing supply chain strategy and adopting best practices in the supply chain.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how blockchain technology can improve supply chain adaptability, alignment and agility which collectively enhance competitive advantage which in turn influences firm performance.

The conceptual framework of the present study is developed by conducting an extensive literature review on blockchain technology, supply chain adaptability, alignment, agility and competitive advantage. The sample data were collected from 397 supply chain practitioners in India to validate the conceptual model. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to ascertain the validity of the measures used and a structural model was analyzed for testing the proposed conceptual framework.

The results of the present study show that blockchain technology can improve supply chain adaptability, alignment, agility which lead to competitive advantage, which leads to better firm performance. Besides, trust generated through blockchain use also increases firm performance.

Currently, the respondents do not have practical experience of using blockchain technology. They have responded based on their knowledge about supply chain and blockchain which they acquired from published sources. Different supply chains require different strategic choices and different information needs. But the present study assumes that all supply chain needs are identical. The present study assumes that government regulations regarding blockchain technology are favorable; however, currently, there is no legal framework to address blockchain technology. The findings of the current study indicate that companies not only should create more awareness regarding blockchain but also should actively work with IT companies that are engaged in developing blockchain-based supply chain solution. Managers, as well as IT companies and academicians, should join hands to study and develop a framework for regulating blockchain technology and suggest these to the policy actors.

The present study shows that supply chain practitioners are confident that blockchain technology will help improve supply chain parameters. These findings can help IT companies and their marketers for developing and promoting blockchain-based IT applications. In addition, the important implication for supply chain practitioners is that blockchain helps in creating a competitive advantage and increases firm performance.

The effect of IT on important supply chain variables has been studied in the past; however, there is not a single study which sheds light on how disruptive technologies such as blockchain will affect supply chain adaptability, alignment, agility and firm performance.

Best-value supply chains characterized by agility, adaptability, and alignment, have become a crucial strategic means for firms to create and sustain competitive advantage in today’s turbulent environment. The purpose of this paper is to investigate linkage between best-value supply chains and firms’ competitive performance.

In Study 1, survey data from 76 firms is used to test the impact of the three qualities of best-value supply chains on firms’ competitive performance. In Study 2, to test if a firm’s competitive advantage can be sustained through building best-value supply chains, a long-run performance analysis is conducted, which is based on a stock portfolio of firms identified from the American Marketing Association’s annual list of “Supply Chain Top 25.”

The results of Study 1 indicate that the three qualities of best-value supply chains are positively related to firms’ competitive performance. The results of Study 2 show that firms having best-value supply chains generate significant and positive abnormal returns for shareholders over time.

This is a multiple-method research, providing two-level empirical evidence to the investigation of theoretical linkage between best-value supply chains and firms’ competitive performance.

To address how organizations should be malleable, the purpose herein is to draw on complementarity theory to examine the interaction effect of customer integration (i.e. coordination) and shared relationship governance (i.e. cooperation) on supply chain adaptability and firm's performance.

A survey research design is adopted to collect primary data from 177 automotive components suppliers. After assessing the measures' psychometric properties, the hypothesized relationships are evaluated using hierarchical regression analysis supplemented by structural equation modeling and complementarity test.

In the context of industrial markets, and specifically the automotive component industry, a complementary interaction effect is found between coordination and cooperation. The complementary impact was significant in affecting the supply chain adaptability and the firm's performance. Our results refine the existing supply chain integration by highlighting the complementary effect of coordination and cooperation.

Understanding the true interaction effect between cooperation and coordination to develop supply chain integration avoids decision-makers' misperception over or underinvesting in activities. This research also provides key insights on the complementary effect of coordination and cooperation to establish structural flexibility in the supply chain and the ability to respond to the disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Understanding the true interaction effect between cooperation and coordination to develop supply chain integration avoids decision-makers' misperception over or underinvesting in activities. The implications for theory and practice are also presented.

Intellectual capital reflects the sum of existing knowledge a manufacturer is able to leverage and plays a critical role in new product development. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the mechanisms through which intellectual capital enhances product innovation performance and how economic and institutional environments affect the mechanisms.

Using a knowledge-based view and institutional theory, this study proposes a model on the relationships among intellectual capital, supplier knowledge integration, supply chain adaptability, and product innovation performance. The hypotheses are empirically tested using multiple group structural equation modelling and data collected from 300 Chinese and 200 Indian manufacturers.

The authors find that intellectual capital improves product innovation performance both directly and indirectly through supplier knowledge integration. However, the effects are different in China and India. In particular, the direct effect of intellectual capital on product innovation performance is significantly higher in China than that in India, and intellectual capital improves product innovation performance indirectly through supplier knowledge integration only in India. The authors also find that supplier knowledge integration improves product innovation performance indirectly through supply chain adaptability in both China and India.

Using a moderated mediation model, this study provides insights into the joint effects of intellectual capital, supplier knowledge integration, and supply chain adaptability on product innovation performance. The findings enhance current understandings of how supply chain management helps a manufacturer develop new products using existing knowledge and the influences of economic and institutional environments on knowledge and supply chain management.