Relationships among Healthcare Digitalization, Social Capital, and Supply Chain Performance in the Healthcare Manufacturing Industry

Abstract

Due to the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have attracted renewed interest in multiple industrial fields. Global manufacturing bases were affected strongly by workforce shortages associated with the spread of COVID-19, and are working to increase productivity by embracing digital manufacturing technologies that take advantage of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) that offer the promise of improved connectivity among supply chains. This trend can increase and smooth the flow of social capital, which is a potential resource in supply chains and can affect supply chain performance in healthcare industry. However, such an issue has not been properly recognized as the best practice in healthcare industry. Thus, this study investigates empirically the relationship between digitalization and supply chain performance in healthcare manufacturing companies based on previous research that proposed a role for social capital. We surveyed the staff of domestic small and medium-sized healthcare manufacturing companies in South Korea currently operating or planning to deploy digital manufacturing technologies. Online and email surveys were utilized to collect the data. Invalid responses were excluded and the remaining 130 responses were analyzed using a structural equation model in SPSS with the AMOS module. We found that digitalization has a positive effect on the formation of social capital, which in turn has a positive effect on supply chain performance. The direct effect of digitalization on supply chain performance is small, and relatively large portions are mediated and influenced by social capital. The establishment of strategic relationships in the healthcare manufacturing industry is significant, as supply chain networks and production processes can influence the intended use of factory output. Companies should, therefore, secure timely and accurate information to manage the flow of products and services. The formation of social capital in the supply chain can help visualize entire supply chains and has a positive effect on real-time information-sharing among key elements of those chains.

How is COVID-19 altering the manufacturing landscape? A literature review of imminent challenges and management interventions

“…We also found research (Juergensen et al, 2020 ; Kim & Lee, 2021 ; Payne et al, 2021 ; Sahoo & Ashwani, 2020 ; Surianarayanan & Menkhoff, 2020 ) focused on COVID-19 complexities in the manufacturing SME context. About 70% SMEs in Italy and Europe, and 50% SMEs in Germany, report revenue losses due to COVID-19 (Juergensen et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Most of these studies focus on investigating different aspects of supply chains. For instance, the social capital theory is used to study the relationship between digitalization, social capital, and supply chain performance (Kim & Lee, 2021 ). Additionally, with the pandemic presenting challenges around timely deployment of resilient assets, studies like Belhadi et al ( 2021 ) and Ivanov ( 2021a , 2021b ) employ the supply chain resilience theory to evaluate supply chain strategies.…”

Crisis Preparedness of Healthcare Manufacturing Firms during the COVID-19 Outbreak: Digitalization and Servitization

“…The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused widespread disruptions in global economic activities. Due to disruptions for upstream suppliers and a decrease in customer demand caused by lockdowns, many healthcare manufacturing firms have had to cease production, and some have even been bankrupted during the outbreak [1,2]. However, some firms have identified opportunities arising from this global health crisis and have improved their competitive advantage.…”

“…To cope with adversities, previous studies have emphasized the importance of organizational resilience, defined as the ability of an organization to maintain functions and to recover rapidly from adversity by mobilizing and accessing the resources needed [4]. For healthcare manufacturing firms, resilience has played a significant role in achieving sustainable development during the COVID-19 pandemic because this health crisis has also provided opportunities for them to build their competitive advantages [2,5]. According to Williams et al [6], organizational resilience is context-based.…”

The Effect of Relational Capital on Organizational Performance in Supply Chain: The Mediating Role of Explicit and Tacit Knowledge Sharing

“…Social capital factors include trust, norms, sanctions and social recognition, etc. [26], and these factors can improve the supply chain performance and sustainable competitive advantages [26,27]. From the perspective of social relationships, relational capital is an important part of social capital, which refers to the trust, commitment and identity between people [28].…”