Role of Organizational Absorptive Capacity to Enhance Supply Chain Resilience

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine internal and external components of the supply chain that are critical factors impacting on supply chain resilience of the telecom industry in Pakistan. The internal components include organizational structure and data analytic capability whereas the external components include customer integration and supplier integration. However, less is known as how the internal and external components of the supply chain can lead to supply chain resilience. Therefore, we investigated the role of absorptive capacity in achieving a resilient supply chain in the telecom industry of Pakistan taking into consideration both internal and external components. By utilizing data obtained from 300 respondents from the telecom sector in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, we test the mediating role of absorptive capacity and supply chain resilience. The findings of this study indicated absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between internal-external components and supply chain resilience. The result of this study indicated that supply chain resilience is positively associated with internal-external components of a supply chain network. Accordingly, our study highlighted that absorptive capacity is necessary to realize the actual value of internal and external components for supply chain resilience and ensuing performance. This study is highly recommended for the telecom sector in Pakistan in order to achieve a resilient supply chain network by improving organizational absorptive capacity. The information generated by internal and external factors must be consolidated at one place and must be shared among organizational department according to their organizational absorptive capacity as defined in network theory which will further enhance overall supply chain resilience of the company