Supply chain resilience and digital transformation: perspectives from a supply chain network

Abstract

This study identifies digitalization as a key determinant of supply chain resilience. Using the quasi-natural experiment provided by China’s supply chain digitalization pilot policies, we find a significant and persistent positive effect on the resilience of firms within supply chain networks. Mechanism analyses indicate that this effect is primarily driven by improvements in firms’ information processing capacity, recovery ability, and inventory turnover efficiency. The results are more pronounced for firms with geographically dispersed supply chains, lower supply chain hierarchies, and higher supply chain transparency. Overall, our findings suggest that digitalization not only strengthens operational and informational linkages but also enables firms to transition from passive disruption management to proactive resilience building in the face of uncertainty.