A Mixed-Method Approach to Determine the Successful Factors Affecting the Criticality Level of Intermediate and Final Products on National Basis: A Case Study from Saudi Arabia

COVID-19, Brexit, war, and some other similar cases will leave/have left us with a lesson that has had an impact on the supply chains of almost all product types. Countries have now recognized that some products cannot be sustained in a situation of uncertainty. This research covers the gap in understanding and identifying the successful factors affecting the criticality level of supply required of intermediate and final products (IFP) at the national level. It investigates the relationship between two factors: the casual factor supply risk (independent factor); and the impacted (dependent factors) political, economic, sociocultural, and technological (PEST) factors in terms of identifying critical products using the principle of Resource Dependency Theory (RDT). A literature review was conducted, followed by a mixed-method approach. Semi-structured interviews with 23 Saudi experts were carried out initially; then, a questionnaire was shared with 152 Saudi experts in different sectors. The qualitative study identified 30 key measurement variables for both factors, in which 19 variables were confirmed using the factor analysis (FA) technique.

Automated summary

COVID-19, Brexit, war, and other similar cases have significantly affected the supply chains of various products, highlighting the difficulty of sustaining certain products in uncertain situations. This study addresses the gap in understanding the critical factors influencing the supply of intermediate and final products (IFP) at the national level. By applying the principles of Resource Dependency Theory (RDT), the study explores the relationship between the independent factor of casual supply risk and the dependent factors of political, economic, sociocultural, and technological (PEST) factors in identifying critical products. The research utilized a mixed-method approach, including semi-structured interviews with 23 Saudi experts and a questionnaire distributed to 152 experts from different sectors. The qualitative analysis identified 30 key measurement variables for both factors, with 19 variables confirmed through factor analysis (FA) technique.