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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.

The study aims to examine the impact of three types of supply chain integration (SCI) on supply chain flexibility (SCF), investigate the impact of SCF on supply chain performance (SCP) and analyse the indirect impact of SCI on SCP by considering the mediating role of SCF within the manufacturing sector of Jordan.

This study used a quantitative approach to validate the study model. An online self-completed questionnaire was used to gather data from 219 participants from managers in various Jordanian manufacturing firms. SmartPLS software was used to perform structural equation modelling to test the formulated hypotheses.

Based on the findings of the study, firms in Jordan's manufacturing sector would benefit from developing an integrative and flexible supply chain to boost SCP in the present volatile, uncertain, complex and speculative market. In addition, SCP was significantly influenced by investments in supply chain management practices related to SCI and SCF. Moreover, SCF significantly moderated the relationship between SCI and SCP. Thus, SCI and SCF assisted firms in reaching their highest potential performance through increased productivity, decreased expenses and increased satisfaction of their customers.

The study employed a cross-sectional design using SCF as a single construct. Future research should look into the specific type of SCFs that have an immense effect on SCP and how these types are affected by the three types of SCI. Furthermore, future research ought to employ probability sampling techniques to improve the generalizability of results or using a longitudinal data-collection design. Finally, additional research should be conducted to validate the findings of this study by replicating it in other specific industries or countries.

The study fills an identified gap based on previous studies by exploring the linkages between SCI, SCF and SCP in the context of manufacturing sector. Moreover, based on the relational view theory, the study proposed an assessment mechanism for SCP for firms based on the link between three types of SCI and SCF.

This study examines the effect of relational investments (e.g. supplier involvement and commitment, customer involvement and commitment) on supply chain quality integration (e.g. supplier and customer quality integration), which leads to financial performance. Moreover, the authors explore the moderating effects of legal bonds on the relationship between relational investments and supply chain quality integration.

A survey study of manufacturing firms is presented to illustrate the conceptual model. The authors use the data from 213 manufacturing firms to test the hypotheses by structural equation modeling.

The results show that supplier and customer quality integration are positively related to financial performance. Supplier involvement and commitment are positively related to supplier quality integration. Customer involvement is positively related to customer quality integration, but customer commitment is not significantly related to customer quality integration. Additionally, on the supplier side, legal bonds negatively moderate the relationship between supplier involvement and supplier quality integration but positively moderate the relationship between supplier commitment and supplier quality integration. On the customer side, legal bonds do not moderate the relationship between customer involvement and customer quality integration, but negatively moderate the relationship between customer commitment and customer quality integration.

This study provides novel insights into supply chain quality management from relational perspectives, as well as the contingent role of legal bonds between them.

This study aims to investigate the impact of digital transformation on supply chain resilience. Additionally, the paper examines the mediating effect of supply chain process integration as well as the moderating effect of environmental uncertainty in the relationship between digital transformation and supply chain resilience.

Drawing on digital empowerment theory, this study proposes a theoretical model. Using survey data collected from 216 enterprises in China, the study employs structural equation modeling to validate the theoretical model.

The results reveal that digital transformation has a significant impact on supply chain resilience. Three dimensions of supply chain process integration, namely, information flow integration, physical flow integration, and financial flow integration mediate the relationship between digital transformation and supply chain resilience. In addition, environmental uncertainty including market uncertainty and technology uncertainty positively moderates the relationship between digital transformation and supply chain resilience.

First, this paper provides empirical evidence on both the direct and indirect effects of digital transformation on supply chain resilience. Second, this paper enriches the understanding of how supply chain integration impacts supply chain resilience in the digital transformation era by adopting a more granular perspective of process integration rather than broad external and internal integrations. Furthermore, this paper extends the knowledge of the role of external environment in digital transformation and supply chain risk management by examining the moderating effects of market uncertainty and technology uncertainty.

Drawing on absorptive capacity theory, this study explores the impacts of supply visibility and demand visibility on product innovation (i.e. exploratory and exploitative innovation), and it examines how supplier integration, customer integration and internal integration mediate these impacts.

The authors employ empirical survey data from 200 Chinese manufacturers and use structural equation modeling to test the proposed relationships.

The results show that supply visibility is positively related to supplier integration and internal integration and that demand visibility is positively related to customer integration. Furthermore, only customer integration and internal integration positively relate to exploratory and exploitative innovation.

First, this study emphasizes that supply visibility and demand visibility are important sources of a firm's innovation performance and that supply chain integration increases focal firms' capability of exploiting information and facilitates product innovation. Second, the study shows that supply visibility and demand visibility have distinct effects on three dimensions of supply chain integration and exploratory and exploitative innovation. The study also provides significant managerial guidelines for effectively leveraging supply chain visibility and integration in the promotion of product innovation.

This study aims to explore how the application of digital technology and information technology can help firms improve their innovation performance and examines the mediating mechanisms of supply chain agility and supply chain integration.

This study conducted a questionnaire survey of 320 business managers in an automotive cluster in China and analyzed the collected data using structural equations.

Digital technology applications (DTA) have a positive impact on innovation performance, while supply chain agility and integration mediate this impact. In addition, information technology applications (ITA) also has a positive impact on innovation performance, while supply chain agility and integration mediate between the two. Supply chain agility (SCA) and supply chain integration (SCI) significantly enhance the positive impact of technology adoption on firms' innovation performance.

This study confirms the impact of digital technology and information technology applications on innovation performance and explores the mediating role played by supply chain agility and integration.

It is claimed that port supply chain integration (PSCI), thanks to its attributes, holds a potential to trigger a port to strategically sustain performance- and competitiveness-measures through strengthening and/or reinforcing an array of port sustainability aspects. This paper aims to empirically investigate the existent influence of PSCI on economic and environmental pillars of port sustainability.

Based on a resource-based view, this paper hypothesises that PSCI has a certain impact on port “economic” sustainability (PECS) and port “environmental” sustainability (PENS). Measures of PSCI, PECS and PENS are refined and validated using data collected from the maritime logistics industry in Egypt, and structural equation modelling is employed to test the hypothetical relationships.

The results indicate that a port having adopted an integrative strategy into supply chains could enhance its cost and operational efficiency, financial and investment situation, while offering high-quality services to its customers. Similarly, PSCI is emphatically correlated with water and air pollution management, energy efficiency and green port management practices.

Having identified the acute potential of PSCI for sustainable development in maritime logistics and supply chains, this line of research allows port operators and/or authorities to better understand strategic options with which they are able to improve their sustainability practices. This paper is, however, limited only to two dimensions of sustainability by not exploring the “social” aspect of port sustainability due to data-related issues.

This line of research could be regarded as an extended application from other industrial sectors to the port industry in a way to empirically examine the inclusive relationship of PSCI with economic and environmental parameters. The findings from this research make a due contribution to the field of port sustainability in general and Egyptian ports in particular.

To examine the role of supply chain integration (SCI – i.e. supplier integration, customer integration and internal integration) between integrated information technology (IIT) and financial performance (FP).

An explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was conducted, collecting quantitative data first and then examining the quantitative results with in-depth qualitative data from a sample targeting manufacturing and services firms in Egypt.

This study indicates that IIT relates positively to SCI, which in turn relates positively to FP. Main enablers/mechanisms and disablers/barriers for those linkages are identified.

After establishing the linkages between ITT, SCI and FP in the quantitative phase of research, a qualitative phase based on follow-up interviews provide deeper understanding about mechanisms and contexts behind those linkages.

Offer firms guidance to assess IIT, SCI and FP.

With a disaggregated framework of IIT, SCI and FP, this study contributes by answering a need for development of a methodological toolbox of the field in supply chain management, with a rigorous use of mixed method research, as a way of departing from the normal approach to help researchers in providing a deeper and richer understanding of supply chain problems.

Integrating demand with supply has always been an evolving research area, which is affected by different factors including, but not limited to, sustainability, changing consumer demands and emerging supply chain practices. However, most of the research targeted developed countries due to better data access and enhanced information visibility. The research on supply and demand integration in Saudi Arabia is still in its infancy. This study explores this gap by providing a comprehensive analysis of demand and supply chain integration in the context of sustainability. This is done by first creating a developing countries-based research framework and then validating it through surveying 162 Saudi companies operating in multiple sectors like food, fashion and retail. Results suggest that there is more emphasis on supply-side factors relative to demand-side factors in the context of integration. Demand side factors only marginally impact waste reduction efforts. Similarly, the food sector is most sensitive to integration efforts attaching high importance to sustainability and efficiency initiatives. These results can be a useful guide for managers and policymakers who are planning and executing at the interface of demand and supply chains in developing countries.

Cross-sector analysis by survey questionnaire of 162. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed on the data for the study participants. Continuous variables were summarised using mean and standard deviation (SD), median and IQR; and proportions were used for nominal and ordinal variables. A total score measuring perception of employees towards supply–demand integration was analysed and compared by company-related factors (sector/industry, length of service in firm (years) and the number of employees). Comparisons were made using the chi-square test or ANOVA. A linear regression model was utilised to examine the independent effect of supply and demand side factors on employees' perception of integration. The model controlled for the sector, length of service and number of employees. Statistical significance was considered at p < 0.05.

The linear regression results showed that supply items significantly predicted integration. That is, higher supply–demand integration scores were significantly related to indicators for using supply variables in supply chain management (SCM) improves operational efficiency (OE), integrating supply variables at the execution stage reduces overall waste and including at least one supply-side variable in supply planning (p < 0.05). The indicator for integrating demand variables at the execution stage reduces overall waste was only marginally related to an increased integration scores (p = 0.089). Lastly, a significantly better perception of supply–demand integration was reported by employees in the food sector compared to those in the fashion sector (p = 0.018). Length of service or number of employees in the firm was not related to perception towards supply–demand integration.

Though accessing 162 companies in the Saudi market is a significant sample size given the fact that they are quite conservative in sharing supply and demand information. However, for better generalisation and richer insights, more sectors like manufacturing, oil and gas and hospitality should be added in future. Cross-country analysis from developing countries can be another interesting future direction.

This empirical paper draws its strength from the scale and depth of empirical data collected from Saudi companies belonging to multiple sectors to better understand demand and supply chain integration, especially from sustainability and waste reduction. This is true in the era of the pandemic and its associated risks for both upstream and downstream. The developing countries' perspective is important as not enough is written in the literature given the difficulties in accessing the information and subsequent analysis. The insights are bound to be unique as a consumer in these countries is undergoing significant socioeconomic changes affecting the supply chain of the companies.

Drawing upon resource dependence theory, this study aims to examine how a firm’s information technology (IT) capabilities (i.e. IT integration and IT reconfiguration) influence its responses to disruptions – bridging with a current supplier and buffering with an alternative supplier. We further examine how such relationships are moderated by the firm–supplier relative dependence (i.e. firm dependence advantage and supplier dependence advantage).

Based on data from 141 match-paired surveys of firms in China, we test our model.

Our study finds that IT integration positively influences bridging and IT reconfiguration positively influences buffering. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the positive impact of IT integration on bridging is negatively influenced by the firm’s dependence (FD) advantage but positively moderated by the supplier’s dependence advantage. By contrast, the positive impact of IT reconfiguration on buffering is negatively influenced by the FD advantage.

Our study provides a more nuanced insight into the effects of IT capabilities on disruption responses and a better understanding of the buyer–supplier dependence boundary conditions under which these effects vary.