The Role of Wearable Technologies in Supply Chain Collaboration: A Case of Pharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

The technological transformation has led to the introduction of mini computers as wearable computers which facilitate users to use the Internet, different applications, messaging, and for calls all on one platform. The focus of these wearable computers in earlier studies has been on consumers and technical aspects, and their application has not been explored from an organizational perspective. This means that the recent introduction of wearable technology has great potential, which is untapped in the organizational context, especially for supply chain collaboration (SC). In this study, wearable technology is thought to offer huge potential for organizations in SC. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to empirically examine the role of wearable technology i.e. Smartwatch in enhancing collaboration among supply chain members with mediating roles of green training (GT) and emotional intelligence (EI). The population of this study is the pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan. Simple random sampling method has been used to collect data from 150 sample size. Data have been collected through offline and online survey method. Data have been analyzed through partial least square-structure equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. The results of this study have empirically tested the established conceptual framework. Continuance intention to use smartwatch has a positive effect on SC. Furthermore, GT and EI have mediating roles between continuance intention to use smartwatch and SC. It is concluded that the continuance intention to use smartwatch will increase SC. GT and EI will strengthen the relationship between continuance intention to use smartwatch and SC. The use of wearable technology will motivate employees to communicate rapidly and to monitor their supply chain activities using web-based and other applications. This study has practical implications in organizations and theoretical contribution to literature.INDEX TERMS Internet of things, emotional intelligence, green training, smart watch, supply chain collaboration, theory of planned behavior, wearable technologies.

Revisiting Green Supply Chain Management Practices: The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence

“…Therefore, GT could bring forward the value and significance of GSCM, and employees could be more contributive to buy raw materials and products which are not going to affect the environment adversely (green purchasing) and eco-designed products and services. Thus, in line with the idea of Gosling et al (2016), trainings can result in sustainable supply chain, and Shafique et al (2019) stated that GT moderates the process of green supply chain integration; thus, we proposed our first hypothesis: Hypothesis 1 (H1): GT Positively affects the adoption of GSCM practices in the manufacturing industry…”

“…In addition, Watkin (2000) argued that EI can be critical to organizational success and should be developed and promoted in employees to achieve diversified outcomes. Similarly, in the most recent research of Shafique et al (2019), the mediating role of EI was brought under consideration on SCM collaboration. To sum up the mediating role of EI between GT and GSCM practices, we proposed the following hypothesis:…”

“…GT could serve as a tool to improve employees' thinking toward the environment (Jabbour, 2015). In addition, it could also increase employees' awareness about greening and to achieve environmental performance (Govindan et al, 2014;Shafique et al, 2019).…”

“…Employees with high EI could understand the issues better than others. Therefore, GT enhances EI, and it could result in green purchases and eco-design products, which are part of GSCM (Shafique et al, 2019). In addition, GHRM and regulatory pressures could play a crucial role in enhancing GSCM practices.…”

The Impact of Scope Creep on Project Success: An Empirical Investigation

“…Likewise, convergent validity test was conducted to test the validity of data [87]. The loading value for convergent validity should be greater than 0.50 with a p-value of <0.05.…”