The promotion of digital transformation for supply chain diversification in service-oriented manufacturing paradigm
Ying Xu, Liukai Wang, Weiqing Wang, Haojia Chen, Xiangrui Meng
Abstract
Service-oriented manufacturing (SOM) is a new paradigm that merges manufacturing and service, leading to supply chain diversification (SCD) with components such as supplier, customer, and product diversification. Building SCD is imperative for SOM firms as a proactive strategy. Our study investigates the role of digital transformation (DT) in building SCD for SOM firms, while also examining the moderating effects of information quality and environment uncertainty. Our methodology involves collecting data from 819 A-listed SOM firms announced by governing bodies between 2017 and 2021. We utilised ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models with fixed effects to test our hypotheses. Our findings indicate that DT enhances SCD, encompassing supplier, customer, and product diversification. The positive effects of DT on SCD are amplified in conditions of higher information quality and lower environmental uncertainty. However, in contexts characterised by low environmental uncertainty, SCD performance may suffer. These results hold practical implications for researchers and practitioners involved in SCD management.