TY - JOUR
T1 - Digitization policy design and implementation in the logistics and supply chain sector during the time of Covid-19
AU - Mishrif, Ashraf
AU - Khan, Asharul
N1 - Funding Information:
© Ashraf Mishrif and Asharul Khan. Published in Journal of International Logistics and Trade. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons. org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode The paper received financial support from the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Oman. Grant No: RC/COVID-DVC/HURC/20/01.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Turkish Journal of Colorectal Disease. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/4/3
Y1 - 2023/4/3
N2 - Purpose - The border closure and lockdowns due to Covid-19 pandemic resulted in partial closure of many industrial and commercial complexes, halted the performance of key strategic sectors such as logistics and supply chains, and thus disrupted the global value chains and the economy. The authors argue, however, that the pursuit of survival has driven companies to innovate and use digitization to overcome the negative consequences of the pandemic. More specifically, in this paper the authors aim to assess the success and challenges faced by companies in digitization policy design, adoption and implementation and their effects on firms' operation, outputs and customer base during Covid-19. Design/methodology/approach - Sixty-one samples of the companies surveyed between 10 January and 30 April 2021 were analyzed, using the Krushkal-Wallis test and Independent-Samples Mann-Whitney U test to identify the relationships between variables including operation, overall output, customer base, digitization policy, technology use and implementation costs of new technologies. Findings - Results revealed a positive impact of digitization on the operation and overall outputs, while no effect was observed on the customer base. Analysis also showed that only 1.8% of companies were able to fully implement digitization, and that the cost of technology prevented most companies from using emerging technology or implementing their digitization policy. Research limitations/implications - While the research has practical implications, it is not without flaws. For instance, the outcome of technology varies as per geographic area and people. The study was conducted in the Sultanate of Oman, a developing country in the Middle East region; therefore, it is difficult to generalize the outcomes suited to developed countries. The developed countries usually have a population quite used to the advanced technologies so some of the issues raised in the study might not work in the logistics and supply chain sectors of the developed countries. Such countries need separate studies. Practical implications - The findings will have implications for both supply chain companies as well as the technology providers. The supply chain companies will invest in technology infrastructure and add technology as an important component in their business models. The technology providers will consider the costs of implementation and adoption issues of technology in the supply chain companies. Originality/value - To the best of authors' knowledge, no work has been produced on logistics and supply chain companies considering the technological sustainability during the time of Covid-19. The study will improve understanding of the digitization policy design, adoption and implementation and their effects on logistics and supply chain companies' performance.
AB - Purpose - The border closure and lockdowns due to Covid-19 pandemic resulted in partial closure of many industrial and commercial complexes, halted the performance of key strategic sectors such as logistics and supply chains, and thus disrupted the global value chains and the economy. The authors argue, however, that the pursuit of survival has driven companies to innovate and use digitization to overcome the negative consequences of the pandemic. More specifically, in this paper the authors aim to assess the success and challenges faced by companies in digitization policy design, adoption and implementation and their effects on firms' operation, outputs and customer base during Covid-19. Design/methodology/approach - Sixty-one samples of the companies surveyed between 10 January and 30 April 2021 were analyzed, using the Krushkal-Wallis test and Independent-Samples Mann-Whitney U test to identify the relationships between variables including operation, overall output, customer base, digitization policy, technology use and implementation costs of new technologies. Findings - Results revealed a positive impact of digitization on the operation and overall outputs, while no effect was observed on the customer base. Analysis also showed that only 1.8% of companies were able to fully implement digitization, and that the cost of technology prevented most companies from using emerging technology or implementing their digitization policy. Research limitations/implications - While the research has practical implications, it is not without flaws. For instance, the outcome of technology varies as per geographic area and people. The study was conducted in the Sultanate of Oman, a developing country in the Middle East region; therefore, it is difficult to generalize the outcomes suited to developed countries. The developed countries usually have a population quite used to the advanced technologies so some of the issues raised in the study might not work in the logistics and supply chain sectors of the developed countries. Such countries need separate studies. Practical implications - The findings will have implications for both supply chain companies as well as the technology providers. The supply chain companies will invest in technology infrastructure and add technology as an important component in their business models. The technology providers will consider the costs of implementation and adoption issues of technology in the supply chain companies. Originality/value - To the best of authors' knowledge, no work has been produced on logistics and supply chain companies considering the technological sustainability during the time of Covid-19. The study will improve understanding of the digitization policy design, adoption and implementation and their effects on logistics and supply chain companies' performance.
KW - Covid-19
KW - Digitization policy
KW - Logistics
KW - Supply chain
KW - Technology use
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U2 - 10.1108/JILT-10-2022-0053
DO - 10.1108/JILT-10-2022-0053
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85174054423
SN - 1738-2122
VL - 21
SP - 135
EP - 158
JO - Journal of International Logistics and Trade
JF - Journal of International Logistics and Trade
IS - 3
ER -