Title: Inventory holding of firms during the COVID-19 pandemic: a data-driven analysis of the manufacturing industry

Authors: Pushpesh Pant; Hari Vishal; S.P. Sarmah

Addresses: Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Hyderabad, 500017, India ' Industrial and Systems Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India ' Industrial and Systems Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India

Abstract: This article examines the performance impact of inventory holding in light of supply chain disruption (proxied by the COVID-19 pandemic). Using a large and longitudinal dataset on 258 Indian manufacturing firms, this study has proposed empirical proxies for supply chain disruption, inventory holding, and other characteristics. The panel data regression analyses reveal that the firm's inventory holding has a positive and significant effect on firm performance. Further, the results reveal that inventory holding increased at the rate of 0.1281 (Rs. million) per quarter during the pre-COVID-19 periods. On the contrary, the inventory holding has significantly reduced at the rate of 0.222 (Rs. million) per quarter during the post-COVID-19 periods. Finally, the results reveal that the firm performance has increased at the rate of 0.004 per quarter during the pre-COVID-19 period; however, it significantly decreases at the rate of 0.007 per quarter in the post-COVID-19 period.

Keywords: inventory holding; firm performance; supply chain disruption; COVID-19; prowess database.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2024.138595

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2024 Vol.48 No.1, pp.113 - 135

Received: 23 Dec 2021
Accepted: 07 Mar 2022
Published online: 14 May 2024 *

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