Blockchain technology is now considered a next generation information technology tool for sustainable growth in supply chain (SC) management. However, its study is relatively rare in the literature on SC collaboration and sustainability management research, despite its advantages in sustaining connectivity and reliability among SC partners. This study investigates how the use of blockchain in SC activities can influence (increase or decrease) SC partnership efficiency and growth, thereby affecting SC performance outcomes. Specifically, this study empirically validates a measurement and structural equation model with 306 SC experts from various industries. The findings show that the blockchain technology characteristics (information transparency, information immutability, and smart contracts) have significant positive effects on partnership growth and marginal effects on partnership efficiency. Though partnership growth has a positive effect on firm performance, partnership efficiency shows a negative effect.

This study investigates the impact of three institutional pressures, namely government, customer, and competitor pressures, on the environmental and operational performance of firms. These three institutional pressures are examined by implementing green supply chain management, considering the role of top management and studying social capital between buyers and suppliers in the supply chain. Data were collected through an electronic mail survey from buyer firms in the manufacturing industry in Korea. With 241 complete and usable responses, we used structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. Our findings revealed that the majority of our hypotheses were supported, which is in line with the existing literature. However, the impact of coercive pressure on top management support and the impact of structural social capital on performance were found to be insignificant. The major contribution of our study is that it broadens the framework of green supply chain management (GSCM) by integrating major and recent constructs in the GSCM theory, while also providing instructive managerial implications through empirical evidence.

With increasing numbers of nodes and links in supply network relationships, understanding partnership management and the required level of collaboration is important for sustainable supply network alignment. This study explores the impact of partnership orientation on partnership commitment and firm performance using a model based on social capital theory and resource dependence theory. It aims to understand the appropriate partnership orientation for the desired level of commitment and firm performance, including innovation, operational, and financial performance. Using a survey of 423 respondents representing three different partnership structure types (supplier, buyer, and parallel-aligned firms’ perspectives), the relationship between partnership orientation and commitment in enhancing firm performance is investigated using structural equation modeling. Additional analysis identifies the moderating role of commitment and investment exchange on performance. The findings show that positive relationships between both investment and contractual-based partnership orientation positively contribute to partnership commitment, but the direct association between partnership commitment and firm performance type varies by partnership structure. Furthermore, (i) investment exchange level moderates the relationship between commitment and innovation and operational performance regardless of partnership structure type, (ii) negative investment exchange signals higher firm performance from the buyer firm’s perspective, and (iii) positive investment exchange is absolutely necessary for financial performance from the supplier firm’s perspective.

The purpose of this study is to systematically identify and design improvement planning for supply chain resilience (SCRES) for a higher level of sustainability and a competitive advantage. Literature-based interpretive structural modelling (ISM), a pairing of the systematic literature review (SLR) and ISM approaches, is proposed for investigating and identifying a set of key performance measures of resilience for supply chain (SC) management. In line with previous research, we identified and updated 13 key SC capabilities out of 24 as core performance measures of supply network resilience. Furthermore, our findings categorised each capability and element into one of four types of influential power variables (drivers, dependent, autonomous, or linkage). This study (i) lends support to and updates previous research that examined the core capabilities of SCRES and (ii) provides complementary classifications for the influential powers of SCRES capabilities and elements. The literature indicates that there has been no research that has integrated SLR as a basis to ISM for an effective way to utilize existing studies for increasing awareness and developing managerial guidelines to achieve SCRES.

Financial technology (fintech) services have come to differentiate themselves from traditional financial services by offering unique, niche, and customized services. Mobile payment service (MPS) has emerged as the most crucial fintech service. While many studies have addressed the essential role of security when service providers and users choose to engage in financial transactions, the relationship between users distinct perceptions of security and MPS success determinants are yet to be examined. Thus, this study primarily aims to uncover the distinctive roles of platform and technology security by investigating how users react differently to their varying understandings of the MPS usage environment. This study proposes a research model comprising two security dimensions (platform and technology) and three MPS success determinants (convenience, interoperability, and trust). We evaluated the proposed model empirically by using an online survey of 356 users. The survey accounts users experiences of the selected MPS. The results show that a security driven MPS can essentially enhance or deteriorate users positive perceptions of MPS success determinants while they use it for financial transactions. To further understand how this recent trend of user perception of security affects the overall MPS usage experience, this study provides theoretical insights into the roles of platform and technology securities. Managerial insights on the design strategies of MPS providers are also provided based on the potential implications of users subjective and objective perceptions of MPS security environment.

A smart factory is a fully automated production system enabled with novel digital technologies. Numerous studies consider its emergence as the arrival of a new wave of production innovation. However, research is scant on why its adoption rate has lagged behind the expectations of investors and policymakers. Thus, this study examined the effect of top management support for information systems, the existing production systems, the perceived usefulness of smart factories, and outsourcing experiences on firms’ intention to adopt smart factories. Using the data of 1,067 Korean manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises and structural equation modeling, this study finds that the performance of the existing production systems significantly increases the benefits expected from smart production systems, thus strengthening firms’ intention to adopt smart factories. It also finds that the top management’s support for information systems does not have a significant impact on the benefits expected from smart production systems. Furthermore, the overall mechanism of smart factories’ adoption is strengthened when firms develop their production systems in-house. The results of this study provide useful insights for practitioners seeking to transform traditional production systems into smart factories. They also provide a strategic guideline regarding outsourcing experiences.