An investigation of information alignment and collaboration as complements to supply chain agility in humanitarian supply chain

Abstract

Our study examines the relationship between information alignment (IA), collaboration (CO) and supply chain agility (SCAG) under the moderating effects of artificial intelligence-driven big data analytics capability (AI-BDAC) and intergroup leadership (IGL). We have grounded our theoretical model in the resource-based view (RBV) and contingency theory and further tested our research hypotheses using multi-informant data collected using a web-based pre-tested instrument from 613 individuals working in 193 humanitarian organisations drawn from 24 countries located on various continents across the globe. We tested our research hypotheses using variance-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Our study offers interesting results which help to advance the theoretical debates surrounding technology-driven supply chain agility in the context of humanitarian settings. We further provide some directions to managers engaged in disaster relief operations, who are contemplating using emerging technologies to enhance collaboration and supply chain agility. Finally, we have outlined the limitations of our study and offer some future research directions.

KEYWORDS:

• Information alignment
• artificial intelligence
• big data analytics
• intergroup leadership
• supply chain agility
• humanitarian supply chain

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Dr Rameshwar Dubey is a Reader-Operations Management at Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University. Rameshwar is a Senior Editor of International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management and Associate Editors of Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, International Journal of Information Management, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Management of Environmental Quality and consulting editor of Hospital Topics a reputable Journal in the field of healthcare operations management. Before joining Liverpool Business School, Rameshwar was a full time Associate Professor-Supply Chain Management at Montpellier Business School, Montpellier, France. He also has taught at some of the leading international school which includes Indian Institute of Management, Jammu, India, the Faculty of Engineering, UNESP, Bauru, SP, Brazil, Southern University of Science and Technology of China, Stockholm School of Business, Stockholm, Sweden and Audencia Business School, Nantes, France. Rameshwar research interests include supply chain management, operations management and business analytics with strong focus on humanitarian operations management, sustainable supply chain management, supply chain design issues and application of emerging technologies in disaster relief operations. For his academic work, Rameshwar has received several awards: outstanding reviewer award International Journal of Production Economics, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Cleaner Production, best reviewer award Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management (2014, 2016), Management Decision (2018) and received a title on 8^th November 2019 at Bauru, SP, Brazil for lifetime commitment to advancing scientific knowledge on supply chain management, operations management, information systems and technology for promoting innovation, enhancing industrial competitiveness and improving quality of life, both in Brazil and worldwide. Rameshwar has been shortlisted among top 1% most cited scholars based on web of science database and among top 200 scholars (based on SCOPUS database) in the field of Business Management and Operations Research. Rameshwar is an active member of several professional societies, active reviewer of over 75 leading international scientific journals, reviewer of PhD thesis and other professional bodies engaged in dissemination of grant.

David J. Bryde is a Director of Research & Knowledge Transfer in Liverpool Business School (LBS)/Director of the School of Doctoral Management Studies in the Faculty of Business and Law (BLW), Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). He is also a Professor of Project Management. He has a strategic leadership role in the Projects, Operations and Workplace Management (POW) Research Group in LBS. Previously he undertook various strategic and operational research leadership and management roles at School and Faculty level in LJMU. In terms of his own personal research, Professor J. Bryde is particularly interested in how projects contribute to sustainable development through the design, procurement and delivery of new products, services, systems and infrastructures. This includes topics such as relational/psycho-social, lean/agile project management and the operation of networks in project-intensive organisations. He has secured external funding for his research from various public and private sector sources in the UK and Europe. He is also currently involved in an externally funded research project using data mining/big data to explore how social and knowledge networks influence the meeting of sustainability-related goals in project-intensive organisations in the construction industry. He is working closely with industry and professional bodies to maximise the impact of his research. For example, he has recently co-authored a Code of Practice to aid the successful delivery of clinical research projects sponsored by the Institute of Clinical Research. Professor Bryde is widely published in reputable outlets. He acts as an expert reviewer for various national and international funding bodies. He has supervised in excess of 25 doctoral students to successful completion and has examined numerous PhD/DBAs as an external and an internal examiner at both UK and non-UK Higher Education Institutes. He is currently acting as the academic lead for a Management KTP with a local SME: Used Kitchen Exchange. He has extensive experience in the area of enterprise, designing and delivering executive education offerings and undertaking consultancy in the area of project management to various private and public sector clients.

Dr Cyril Foropon is Full Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management, and the Director of Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) Programs at Montpellier Business School (MBS). He holds a PhD in Management from HEC Paris. His research interests are Big Data & Predictive Analytics, Healthcare Operations, Humanitarian Operations Management, Humanitarian Supply Chain Management, Industry 4.0, Lean Operations, and Sustainable Supply Chain Management. He is particularly interested in the implementation of Lean management within both service and manufacturing organisations, quality management practices within ISO 9000 candidate organisations, process management within humanitarian operations and supply chains, the impact of emerging technologies in the field of operations and supply chain management, and the use of metaphors in operations management theory building. His articles are published in IJPE, IJPR, IJOPM, AOR, JCP, MD, IJIM, JEIM, IJLM, TFSC, amongst other leading academic journals. He serves as an Associate Editor of Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, and as guest editor of a SI on post Covid-19 at International Journal of Logistics Management.

Manisha Tiwari is currently a research Scholar at Liverpool Business School, Liverpool John Moores University, UK. She has over 7 years of experience with leading consultancy firms such as Tata Consultancy Services and Ernst & Young in the field of corporate social responsibility and international taxation respectively. She holds an M.B.A degree from The University of Calcutta. Her research interests include Impacts of Epidemic outbreaks on Healthcare Supply Chains: Lessons from COVID-19.

Yogesh K. Dwivedi is a Professor of Digital Marketing and Innovation, Founding Director of the Emerging Markets Research Centre (EMaRC) and Co-Director of Research at the School of Management, Swansea University, Wales, UK. Professor Dwivedi is also currently leading the International Journal of Information Management as its Editor-in-Chief. His research interests are at the interface of Information Systems (IS) and Marketing, focusing on issues related to consumer adoption and diffusion of emerging digital innovations, digital government, and digital and social media marketing particularly in the context of emerging markets. Professor Dwivedi has published more than 300 articles in a range of leading academic journals and conferences that are widely cited (more than 21 thousand times as per Google Scholar). Professor Dwivedi is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing, Government Information Quarterly and International Journal of Electronic Government Research, and Senior Editor of the Journal of Electronic Commerce Research. More information about Professor Dwivedi can be found at: http://www.swansea.ac.uk/staff/som/academic-staff/y.k.dwivedi/.

Sarah Schiffling is a Senior Lecturer in Supply Chain Management at Liverpool John Moores University, UK, and an International Research Fellow with the HUMLOG Institute in Helsinki, Finland. She holds a PhD from Heriot-Watt University, UK, focusing on complexity in humanitarian logistics. Her research interests include humanitarian logistics, coopetition, and supply chain management in developing nations. She is particularly interested in interactions of supply chains with communities. Her papers have been published in the International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Annals of Operations Research, Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, and others. Sarah has a background in the aerospace industry. More information about current work can be found at https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/staff-profiles/faculty-of-business-and-law/liverpool-business-school/sarah-schiffling.