A Review and Outlook on Research into How Digital Transformation Enhances Supply Chain Resilience

Abstract

Global industrial chains continue to face successive shocks from geopolitical conflicts, trade protectionism, and various unforeseen risks. Supply chain resilience is no longer confined to a management issue at the corporate operational level; it has risen to become a core strategic priority for national industrial security. The iterative implementation of digital technologies-such as the Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain-provides new analytical perspectives and practical pathways for building risk-resilient supply chain systems.This paper systematically traces the evolution of the concept of supply chain resilience, clarifying the logical progression of academic understanding from static post-disaster recovery to dynamic adaptation across the entire lifecycle. By integrating foundational theories such as dynamic capabilities, organizational information processing, and complex co-evolution, it identifies four mainstream pathways through which digital technologies empower supply chain resilience: information sharing, collaborative optimization, resource coordination, and risk prevention and control.At the same time, this paper dissects the underlying causes of the significant heterogeneity in the effects of digital empowerment from three dimensions: regional institutional environments, industrial network structures, and internal corporate characteristics. Although existing literature has accumulated a wealth of research findings, there remain research gaps, including insufficient analysis of the interaction among multiple mechanisms, a scarcity of dynamic time-series studies, weak empirical evidence regarding specific industry segments and network structures, and a lack of critical discussion on the potential risks of digitalization.Accordingly, future research could establish a dynamic, integrated analytical framework that synthesizes multiple theories to distinguish the differentiated empowerment pathways of various digital technologies; advance cross-industry, multi-tier network comparative empirical studies to refine standardized measurement systems and hybrid research paradigms; and dialectically examine the dual impacts of digital transformation, balancing its benefits with the risks it entails.