An examination of the generative mechanisms of value in big data-enabled supply chain management research

Big data technologies (BDT) are the latest instalments in a long line of technological disruptions credited with advancing the field of supply chain management (SCM) from a purely clerical function to a strategic necessity. Yet, despite the wave of optimism about the utility of BDT in SCM, the origins of value in a BDT-enabled supply chain are not well understood. This study examines the generative mechanisms of value creation in such a supply chain by a two-pronged approach. First, we interrogate the theoretical raisons d'etre of BDT in SCM. Second, we examine the evidence that support the value-added potential of BDT in SCM informed by extant empirical and quantitative studies (EQS). Taken together, our analyses reveal three key findings. First, in extending the dynamic capabilities perspective, we deduced that micro-founded rather than macro-founded studies tend to be more instructive to practice. Second, we discovered that the generative mechanisms of value in a BDT-enabled supply chain operate at the level of supply chain processes. And thirdly, we found that resilience and agility are the most important dynamic capabilities that have emerged from current BDT-enabled SCM research. Insights for policy, practice, theory, and future research are discussed.

Automated summary

The application value of big data technology in supply chain management is still unclear, and this study reveals that micro-level research is more instructive for practice. The mechanisms of value creation in the supply chain mainly operate at the level of supply chain processes, and resilience and agility are the most important dynamic capabilities emerging from current research on big data technology-enabled supply chain management.