Supply Chain Diversification, Digital Transformation, and Supply Chain Resilience: Configuration Analysis Based on fsQCA

Abstract

To determine the influence of COVID-19 on supply chains, previous research has examined the impact of supply chain diversification and digital transformation on supply chain resilience, but few studies have integrated these two aspects to understand their impact on supply chain resilience. Given this, our study implements the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method to investigate the influence of supply chain diversification (supply base diversification and customer base diversification) and digital transformation (digital transformation depth and breadth) on supply chain resilience. Using data from 191 listed manufacturing firms, it is shown that the dimensions of supply chain diversification and digital transformation do not have the necessary conditions to achieve high supply chain resilience, while the analysis of sufficient conditions shows that three paths can achieve high supply chain resilience—namely, those driven by digital transformation, supply chain diversification, and supplier centralization and customer base diversification. This study demonstrates the numerous and complex linkages between antecedent and outcome, and firms can choose the path that is best for them to improve supply chain resilience based on their size, degree of digital transformation, and supply chain diversification.