Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration

Major

Business Administration

Date of Defense

11-19-2021

Graduate Advisor

George Zsidisin

Committee

Keith Womer

Florian Schupp

Abstract

Constantly evolving technologies enable supply chains around the world to thrive and become progressively more sophisticated and responsive. Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies connect supply chain networks like never before. Still, anecdotal evidence suggests that few firms have implemented such technologies enterprise-wide. Therefore, to investigate the value created from the implementation of such technology, the focus of this study was on buyer-supplier relationships (BSR) and firm supply chain agility (FSCA) in the context of I4.0 technologies. Using mixed methodologies within a single-case study, we set out to answer the research question: Does I4.0 technology influence buyer-supplier relationships and firm supply chain agility, and if so, how? In this exploratory research, data was collected and analyzed in two phases through the use of focus groups and individual interviews (qualitative) and surveys (quantitative) of a single buying firm and its suppliers. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of I4.0 technology in order to better understand the value of I4.0 adoption. Secondary goals of this study included learning more about information exchange within BSRs (supplier transparency) and FSCA. By maintaining matched dyads during data collection, we gleaned richer insights into perceptions within supply chain relationships. The results from the quantitative analysis in this study reveal that the I4.0 technology had little to no effect on the perceived supplier transparency and FSCA, despite the perceptions expressed in the qualitative phase. However, we found that supplier transparency explains a large portion of the variation in FSCA. This relationship between supplier transparency and FSCA is the most significant contribution of this study and presents opportunities for further research.

Download

Share

COinS