Sustainable supply network structure: Understanding impact of inter-firms’ relations as drivers of supply network complexity

Abstract

This study examined the Inter-Firm Relation (IFR) as one of the elements to enhance Sustainable Supply Network Structure (SSNS) management in Malaysian maritime industry supply network. IFR has been an interesting research area for academics and businesses practices due to its relevance in determining the best practices and impacts to encourage SSNS. The Social Network Analysis (SNA) method was adopted to develop valid attribute for the measurement process and the embeddedness theory was used to evaluate IFR among the proposed attributes. These methods enable the researcher to transform relational data in the form of network matrix and produce reliable results for theoretical and industrial applications which have not been discovered in previous studies. A total of 37 managers in a maritime industry supply network were approached to participate in this study. Result revealed that IFR has different effects on the formation of SSNS. The finding provides useful insight in formulating the importance of IFR towards improving and understanding SSNS, particularly, in the Malaysian maritime industry. The contribution of this research extends to the literature and put forward solutions for the industry since previous studies are neglecting IFR, which is highlighted as a source of supply network complexity.

Elevating Healthcare Resilience: Role of drones in mitigating supply chain challenges in Malaysia

“…For example, the advancement in 5G technology in China has already proven beneficial in its response mechanism to the COVID-19 pandemic. The country provided better assistance to the healthcare staff and frontlines with the help of a 5G network (Osman et al, 2020). In addition to that, the 5G network has been very helpful in setting up virus tracking, patient monitoring, data collection, and analysis (Govind et al, 2020).…”

“…There are a few essential rules to follow in order to fly a drone in Malaysia. One of the rules is the limitation on drone flights to daylight hours and requirements for commercial users to keep their aircraft within their visual sight (Osman et al, 2020). The limitation will hinder most drones' flight for supplies of healthcare products as the drop-off locations would be further than the visual distance.…”

An Overview of Logistics and Supply Chain Studies during COVID-19: Perspective from the Higher Educational Institutions

“…Additionally, the issue of the generation gap also could be touched here. The older generation might be facing difficulties in using the latest social media platforms with online technology [16,17].…”