Jul 2026· Asia Pacific Economic and Management Review· Vol 3· 0 citations· 19 references
Abstract
Regional specialty agri-food supply chains face growing risks from production shocks, logistics disruptions, market volatility, and institutional uncertainty, yet evidence on resilience in traditional smallholder-based systems remains limited. Drawing on the technology-organization-environment framework, this study investigates resilience drivers in the Qiaojia brown sugar industry in Yunnan, China. A questionnaire survey of sugarcane growers, processors, distributors, retailers, government-related stakeholders, and other stakeholders yielded 230 valid responses from 248 returns, with an effective response rate of 92.74%. Structural equation modeling examined the effects of digital technology, information sharing, collaboration capability, risk control capability, response capability, and policy and institutional support. The results show acceptable internal consistency, convergent validity, and model fit, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.696 to 0.803 and the main fit indices meeting conventional thresholds. All six hypothesized paths were positive and statistically significant. Policy and institutional support had the strongest standardized effect on supply chain resilience (β = 0.303), followed by response capability (β = 0.287), risk control capability (β = 0.266), collaboration capability (β = 0.262), digital technology (β = 0.230), and information sharing (β = 0.187). The findings suggest that resilience depends on the combined development of digital tools, organizational capabilities, and stable institutional support.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies operate within supply environments marked by demand uncertainty, supplier disruptions, infrastructure constraints and intense competition. These conditions make the development of supply chain resilience capabilities increasingly important for sustained business performance. This study examined the effects of supply chain agility, supply chain flexibility and supply chain collaboration on the performance of SMEs in South-East Nigeria. The study adopted a quantitative survey design and drew on primary data collected through a structured questionnaire from SMEs operating across the region. A sample of 398 SMEs was determined, while 325 valid responses were returned and used for analysis. Structural equation modelling was employed to assess the measurement and structural models. The findings indicate that supply chain agility has a significant positive effect on SME performance (β = 0.32, p < 0.001). Supply chain flexibility also exerts a significant positive effect on performance (β = 0.30, p < 0.001), while supply chain collaboration has a significant positive effect (β = 0.22, p = 0.001). The results suggest that SMEs that respond quickly to environmental changes, reconfigure operations when conditions change, and maintain purposeful relationships with supply chain partners are more likely to achieve stronger performance outcomes. The study contributes to supply chain resilience scholarship by isolating three closely related but conceptually distinct capabilities within the SME context of South-East Nigeria. It recommends that SME managers move beyond reactive supply chain practices and deliberately build agility, flexibility and collaborative routines as complementary capabilities.
Chi-Chi Onuorah, I. Nwaizugbo, O. Ojiaku· Open Access Journal of Manag...· 0 citations
In the context of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and the post–COVID‐19 environment, firms in developing economies face increasing pressure to adopt advanced digital technologies while simultaneously improving their environmental responsibility. Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies are widely recognized as enablers of sustainable operations; however, empirical evidence explaining how these technologies translate into improved environmental performance (EP) through responsible supply chain practices remains limited. Addressing this gap, the present study examines the effect of I4.0 technologies on EP, emphasizing the mediating role of green supply chain management (GSCM) and the moderating influence of government regulation. Using survey data collected from textile manufacturing firms in Pakistan, the proposed moderated mediation model is tested employing partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) and importance–performance map analysis (IPMA). The results demonstrate that I4.0 technologies have a significant and positive influence on the EP; while GSCM significantly and positively mediates the association between I4.0 technologies and EP, and government regulation positively moderates the relationship between GSCM and EP. The results highlight the complementary roles of digital transformation, green supply chain practices, and regulatory governance in promoting environmental sustainability. This study offers actionable insights for managers and policymakers seeking to align technological innovation with corporate social responsibility and environmental management objectives in developing economies.
Zulfiqar Ali, Shi Qiang Liu, Xinyu Huang et al.· Corporate Social Responsibil...· 0 citations
Digital technologies are widely expected to reshape supply chains, yet the conditions under which they deliver operational and sustainability-related value in practice remain insufficiently understood. This study examines how digital technologies influence supply chain operations and performance, where performance is operationalized through demand forecasting accuracy, cost, lead time, visibility, and inter-organizational collaboration, and asks how these technologies can support more resilient, resource-efficient, and sustainable supply chain operations. The study adopts an exploratory qualitative design based on semi-structured interviews with eight supply chain professionals at manager level or above, drawn from the aluminum, elevator, railway, food, and consumer goods industries in Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, and conducted between March and June 2025. A structured literature review complements the interview evidence. Within this exploratory sample, Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics were the most widely adopted technologies (five of eight participants each), followed by the Internet of Things (four of eight) and Automation (five of eight), while no participant reported active Blockchain deployment. Reported benefits concentrated on forecasting accuracy, operational efficiency, visibility, and collaboration, whereas high implementation costs, legacy system integration, skill shortages, and regulatory uncertainty formed the principal barriers. The central finding is a conditional relationship between adoption and competitiveness: internal operational gains did not automatically translate into competitive advantage among the professionals interviewed, but appeared to require strategic alignment, cross-functional integration, and performance measurement. Because digitally enabled forecasting, inventory positioning, and resource optimization also reduce waste and improve resource utilization, the findings link digital supply chain transformation to sustainable development objectives. This exploratory study of eight participants therefore provides practitioner-level propositions and a research agenda for digital and sustainable supply chain transformation rather than statistically generalizable findings.
Martin Končár, Adel Aazami, Sebastian Kummer et al.· Sustainability· 0 citations
In an expanding and unpredictable business context featured by pandemics specifically COVID-19, political-geographical confrontation, climate related turmoil, and technological contingencies, supply chain resilience has appeared as a discriminating ability for institutional endurance and sustained progress. SMEs (Small & Medium Enterprises) which hold main part of Pakistani economy, are specifically sensitive to supply chain interruptions due to scare resources, unsuitable technological base and inadequate sustainability competencies. This study examines the impact of electronic gradual development and green supply chain procedures and practices on supply chain resilience among Small and Medium Enterprises of Pakistan. This study empirically investigates the influence of digital transformation and green supply chain practices on supply chain resilience by utilizing stakeholders’ theory, resource-based view and dynamic capability theory. The study collected data from the owners of 394 small and medium enterprises working across trading, services and manufacturing domains in Pakistan by employing SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) and adopting a quantitative research design. The results show that digital transformation notably influences SMEs supply chain resilience by enhancing institutional responsiveness. Moreover, digital transformation significantly impacts the acceptance of green supply chain practices which positively adds value to resilience. The study employed mediation analysis which shows that green supply chain practices mediate the link between supply chain resilience and digital transformation but to some extent. The findings suggest that SMEs achieve higher resilience when digital infrastructure is incorporated with sustainability perspectives. The present study adds to literature by incorporating digital transformation and sustainability practices in an integrated resilience structure and gives practical outcomes to managers of small and medium enterprises and policymakers pursuing to fortify institutional resilience and prolonged competitiveness in developing economies like Pakistan.
Sadia Anjum· International Journal of Bus...· 0 citations
This paper examines the relationship between supply chain digitalization and firm-level supply chain resilience using the staggered rollout of China’s Supply Chain Innovation and Application Pilot Program as a quasi-natural experiment. Based on panel data for Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms from 2012 to 2023, the difference-in-differences estimates indicate that policy exposure is associated with a statistically significant increase in supply chain resilience. The coefficient remains stable across parallel trends tests, placebo exercises, additional controls, high-dimensional fixed effects, and policy-selection diagnostics. Because pilot assignment followed an evaluation process, rather than randomization, the estimates remain subject to possible selection on unobserved characteristics. Subgroup regressions yield larger positive coefficients for firms in less marketized regions, non-state-owned enterprises, and mature firms. Sobel tests support the financing constraint pathway, whereas the information transparency pathway is only marginally significant. Asset turnover, the operating cycle, and inventory alignment are associated with resilience in the outcome equations, but the corresponding first-stage policy coefficients are not robust in the preferred firm- and year-fixed effect specifications. The findings document a positive quasi-experimental association between supply chain digitalization and resilience, while highlighting the institutional and firm-level conditions that shape the estimated relationship.
Bingbing Wang, T. Wei· Sustainability· 0 citations
Green supply chain management (GSCM) has become a strategic requirement for industrial firms seeking to reduce environmental harm while improving long-term sustainability performance. Despite growing interest in green procurement, eco-design, green manufacturing, and green distribution, limited empirical evidence explains how these practices are converted into sustainability performance through collaborative environmental action in the Sultanate of Oman. Guided by the Natural Resource-Based View, this study examines the effects of four GSCM practices on environmental collaboration and investigates the mediating role of environmental collaboration in the relationship between GSCM practices and sustainability performance. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain professionals working in Omani industries. From 520 questionnaires distributed, 342 valid responses were retained for analysis. The data were analyzed using Smart PLS 4.0 and partial least squares structural equation modelling. The measurement model demonstrated acceptable reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The structural results show that eco-design, green procurement, green manufacturing, and green distribution have significant positive effects on environmental collaboration. Environmental collaboration, in turn, has a strong positive effect on sustainability performance. The indirect effects also support the mediation of the relationships between the GSCM practices and the sustainability performance, confirming the mediation chain. The results indicated that green practices are not enough; they have to be integrated with the collaboration of suppliers, customers, logistics and other functions within the company to make green practices produce results in terms of performance. The study adds to GSCM and sustainability literature by providing a relational mechanism that determines the contribution of green practices to the industrial sustainability of the Oman context.
Shahzad Ahmad Khan, D. Muniyanayaka, Khalifa Al Adabi et al.· Journal of Intelligent Decis...· 0 citations