The performance implications of supply chain resilience and robustness: when and how information processing capability matter?

What the paper says

Purpose Despite the growth of literature on supply chain resilience (SCRes) and robustness (SCR), particularly in the post-COVID-19 era, their contribution to enhancing a firm’s performance is not fully understood. This paper, therefore, aims to investigate the influence of SCRes and SCR on firms’ performance. Additionally, the paper examines the moderating role of information processing capability (IPC). Design/methodology/approach From the dynamic capability perspective, the model was tested using data collected from managers of 286 firms in Ghana. Confirmatory factor analysis was done using AMOS, and hierarchical regression was done using Process Macro. Findings The findings revealed that both SCRes and SCR directly influence all three performance dimensions (operational, financial and social). The findings showed significant moderation of IPC in the SCR and performance nexus for all performance dimensions (operational, financial and social). Additionally, the authors found an inverse insignificant moderation of IPC in the SCRes and its performance (operational and social). Research limitations/implications Despite the study’s contribution to literature and practice, its key limitation lies in its reliance on a cross-sectional design, which limits the ability to establish causality. Additionally, the study focused on firms in Ghana, which may also limit the applicability of findings to other contexts. Practical implications The findings provide evidence to justify that extremely high IPC may not be beneficial to firms in every situation or context. The paper therefore offers managers and scholars valuable insights on contemporary supply chain strategies and how they can be leveraged to drive holistic performance outcomes. Originality/value This paper is amongst the few attempts to offer empirical evidence on the performance implications of SCRes and SCR in a single model. Thus, the paper investigates the individual impact of SCRes and SCR on performance, which is rare and offers contemporary managerial insight. The paper also introduces a new theoretical perspective by showing how firms could switch attention to operational, financial and social outcomes through SCRes and SCR under varying conditions of information processing capability. The paper presents novel insight into how managers can switch between performance outcomes of SCRes and SCR knowing when to appropriately build resilient and robustness strategies that withstand disruption and the desired level of information processing capability to reap superior performance benefits.