The adoption of digital technologies in supply chains: Drivers, process and impact

Abstract

Digital technologies have been extensively studied in academic research and industry. However, little is known about the adoption of digital technologies in manufacturing firms at a supply chain level. This paper aims to understand why and how manufacturing firms adopt digital technologies, and the impact of the adoption on supply chains. The study uses literature review method, identifies the main drivers of manufacturing firms adopting digital technologies (why), develops a new model of the adoption process (how), and synthesizes the impact of the adoption on supply chains into four aspects (what): supply chain efficiency, supply chain structure, sustainability and innovation. The paper then proposes a conceptual framework consisting of driver, process and impact, and discusses their inter-relationships. The study identifies that the technological intelligence and supply chain cooperation are two important factors and proposes a two-dimentional levels of adopting digital technologies according to their low-to-high degrees. The proposed framework, in particular the levels of digital technology adoption, are novel to the existing literature. Each of the three parts of the framework and their inter-relationships lays a foundation for further empirical studies in this field. This study also provides guidance for practitioners adopting digital technologies for supply chain management and developing appropriate business strategies at different digitalization levels.