Title: Enabling technologies in supply chain operations: an examination of smart technologies on supply chain performance with moderation of virtual reality

Authors: Yajun Cheng

Addresses: Department of Economics and Management, Hebei JiaoTong Vocational and Technical College, Shijiazhuang, 050000, China

Abstract: Smart technologies play an essential role in revolutionising the supply chain industry by bringing myriad benefits that enhance efficiency, transparency, and competitiveness. Smart technologies empower corporates to optimise supply chain operations, reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction, and stay ahead of the competition to win over the market. This study reveals the impact of certain smart technologies (i.e., the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, cloud computing, and supply control towers) on supply chain performance (SCP) with mediating of virtual reality (VR) based on resource dependence theory (RDT). First, the study affirmed a positive connection between five smart technologies on SCP. Second, it is revealed that virtual reality capability moderates the correlation between the connection of smart technologies and corporates' SCP. This study endows with insights into smart technologies on how they may optimise SCP by utilising various technologies in supply chain operation, including the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies, cloud computing, and supply control towers along with virtual reality. Besides, this study provides several interesting implications for management along with future directions for worldly scholars to carry out similar studies with the Chinese market and across the globe for additional validations.

Keywords: smart technologies; virtual reality; supply chain performance; empirical analysis; resource dependence theory.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEB.2024.139792

International Journal of Electronic Business, 2024 Vol.19 No.3, pp.296 - 310

Received: 25 Jul 2023
Accepted: 05 Dec 2023
Published online: 05 Jul 2024 *

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