Achieving competitive advantage through technology-driven proactive supply chain risk management: an empirical study

Whilst there has been previous work focused on the role of technologies in enhancing supply chain risk management and, through such an enhancement, increased competitive advantage, there is a research gap in terms of understanding the links between external institution pressures and internal adoption factors. We use institutional theory (IT) and the resource based view (RBV) of the firm to address this gap, developing a framework showing how a proactive technology-driven approach to supply chain risk management, combining both external with internal factors, can result in competitive advantage. We validate the framework through analysis of quantitative data collected via a survey of 218 firms in the manufacturing and logistics industry sectors in India. We specifically focus on the technologies of track-and-trace (T&T) and big data analytics (BDA). Our findings show that firms investing in T&T/BDA technologies can gain operational benefits in terms of uninterrupted information processing, reduced time disruptions and uninterrupted supply, which in turn gives them competitive advantage. We add further novelty to our study by demonstrating the moderating influences of organisational culture and flexibility on the relationship between the technological capabilities and the operational benefits.