The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify chain coordinators and to explore their roles. The paper also highlights certain advantages of coordination, specific competencies of the coordinators, and challenges in the coordination. Design/methodology/approach -This is a case study research. The data were collected through interviews, observations, and personal experiences of working as a logistics manager and a project manager in the 2005 South Asian earthquake. Findings -The coordinated organizations manage a number of complex relationships to respond to the disasters effectively and efficiently. An umbrella organization plays a chain coordinator role in horizontal coordination. The umbrella organization leads, directs, and makes major decisions. A country director/ programme manager acts as a strategic coordinator in vertical coordination. However, logistics managers, procurement managers and project managers (operations coordinators) also handle coordination activities. The coordinators' tangible (finance, technology, and people) and intangible (leadership, extra efforts, relevant experiences and education, relationship management skills, research abilities, and performance measurement skills) assets are the key determinants of chain-coordination success. The success of coordination is achieved if these characteristics of the coordinators are effectively matched with the unpredictable nature of humanitarian relief chains. However, coordination does not guarantee success in all situations because organizations may face coordination challenges such as cultural and structural differences. Research limitations/implications -This paper provides specific and detailed information from the selected humanitarian relief chains of the South Asian earthquake 2005. The paper explores the useful and enhanced understanding of fundamentals to achieve the success of coordination in the chains. Therefore, it is an endeavour to enable a better practical strategy for chain coordinators/managers. Originality/value -The conceptual and empirical research on the characteristics of chain coordinators and their impact on coordination success is very limited. This paper provides new thoughts to investigate relationships between the characteristics of chain coordinators or coordination and the success of humanitarian relief chains.

Purpose – This paper aims to identify the antecedents of firm’s supply chain agility (SC agility) and how SC agility impacts on firm’s performance. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a comprehensive literature review, a conceptual model was proposed, in which the interrelated hypotheses were tested by structural equation modelling methodology using a dataset collected from 266 Chinese electronics firms. Findings – Initially, it was found that SC integration and external learning positively influenced SC agility. Second, the results indicated that firm’s performance is positively impacted by SC agility. Moreover, SC agility also fully mediated the effect of SC integration on firm’s performance and the effect of external learning on firm’s performance. Research limitations/implications – The generalizability of this research sample might be the major limitation of this study. Therefore, future research can adopt other industry sectors samples, such as automobile manufacturing, or other country samples to validate the research model. Practical implications – This research outlines strategies for better preparedness to achieve SCs to be agile which is a core competency of electronic firms in emerging market. Findings reveal that the external coordination practices – external learning and SC integration – are important factors of SC agility. In addition, the findings contribute to understanding the important role of SC agility in improving firm’s performance. Originality/value – This research examines the impact of two antecedents (i.e. SC integration and external learning) on SC agility and is the first empirical research to analyze the mediation effect of SC agility on the relationship between SC integration and firm performance and the relationship between external learning and firm performance.

The contemporary research in the area of technology adoption mainly focuses on commercial supply chains. However, limited research focuses on the context of humanitarian supply chains. This calls to develop structural models that can scrutinize the technology adoption behaviour in the humanitarian context. Therefore, this study is an attempt to empirically examine the technology adoption behaviour of humanitarian organizations. It extends the unified theory of the acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model by integrating personal innovativeness and trust in technology with the behavioural intention to adopt technology. Data from 192 humanitarian practitioners, who have experienced a large number of disasters, is utilized to empirically validate the conceptual model. The structural equation modelling results show that -out of four constructs namely performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions under UTAUT -performance expectancy and effort expectancy significantly affect the IT adoption. Contrary to expectations, trust and personal innovation do not affect the behavioural intention. Also, personal innovation does not moderate the relationship between performance expectancy and effort expectancy. This underlines the need to foster a learning culture within these organizations. The efforts made by involved humanitarian organizations may be directed towards improving the level of education, skills and facilitating them with other resources such as appropriate IT and data mining training, so that the technology adoption becomes an integral part of their daily activities. Finally, detailed implications for humanitarian organizations are discussed.

Although various studies have emphasized linkages between firm competencies, networks and sustainability at organizational level, the links between top management tangible competencies (TMTCs) (e.g. contemporary relevant quantitative-focused education such as big data analytics and data-driven applications linked with the internet of things, relevant experience and analytical business applications), relationship-based business networks (RBNs) and environmental sustainability have not been well established at microlevel, and there is a literature gap in terms of investigating these relationships. This study examines these links based on the unique data collected from 175 top management representatives (chief executive officers and managing directors) working in food import and export firms headquartered in the UK and New Zealand. Our results from structural equation modelling indicate that TMTCs are the key determinants for building RBNs, mediating the correlation between TMTCs and environmental sustainability. Directly, the competencies also play a vital role towards environmental practices. The findings further depict that relationship-oriented firms perform better compared to those which focus less on such networks. Consequently, our findings provide a deeper understanding of the microfoundations of environmental sustainability based on TMTCs rooted in the resourcebased view and RBNs entrenched in social network theory. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings, and we provide suggestions for future research.

Prior studies on big data analytics have emphasized the importance of specific big data skills and capabilities for organizational success; however, they have largely neglected to investigate the use of cross‐functional teams’ skills and links to the role played by relevant data‐driven actions and business performance. Drawing on the resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm and on unique data collected from 240 big data experts working in global agrifood networks, we examine the links between the use of big data‐savvy (BDS) teams’ skills, big data‐driven (BDD) actions and business performance. BDS teams depend on multi‐disciplinary skills (e.g. computing, mathematics, statistics, machine learning and business domain knowledge) that help them turn their traditional business operations into modern data‐driven insights (e.g. knowing real‐time price changes and customer preferences), leading to BDD actions that enhance business performance. Our results, raised from structural equation modelling, indicate that BDS teams’ skills that produce valuable insights are the key determinants for BDD actions, which ultimately contribute to business performance. We further demonstrate that those organizations that emphasize BDD actions perform better compared to those that do not focus on such applications and relevant insights.

No abstract

Whilst there are promising links between the Internet of Things (IoTs), dynamic data and information processing capabilities (DDIPCs), and operational agility, scholars have not conducted enough empirical studies that offer convincing evidence for the use of the IoTs and relevant linkages. This study therefore examines the links between such constructs and provides managerial implications for contemporary data and information driven managers who adopt evidence-based decision making for better operational outcomes. The results obtained from structural equation modelling indicate that the use of the IoTs is the key determinant for operational agility and also plays a vital role in establishing DDIPCs that further reinforce it. Additionally, DDIPCs mediate the relationship between the use of the IoTs and operational agility. By persuasively building these links based on theoretical arguments and testing them by using a unique dataset, this study contributes to the deeper understanding of the mechanisms by which the use of the IoTs and DDIPCs strengthen operational agility.