Supply chain agility in the service industry: an innovation perspective

Despite the large body of research devoted to the topic of supply chain agility (SCA), most studies agree that the concept is still under-theorised and suffers definitional ambiguity and structural fragmentation. To date, most of the published literature in SCA research has focused on the manufacturing industry. This study is an early attempt to investigate SCA in service industries. While research on the enablers or the factors that lead or affect SCA is voluminous and spanning from strategic to operational factors, research has simplified or ignored the role of firm innovativeness as an important input. Also, the previous research is inconsistent in its findings about the relationship between SCA and performance. This study aims to rectify these issues by developing a complete and new definition for SCA and constructing an integrative framework with appropriate hypotheses for the enablers and outcomes of SCA. To reflect on the multidisciplinary and multi-dimensional nature of SCA, this research advances the growing body of literature by proposing firm innovativeness in its three broad dimensions (service (product), process, and administrative innovation) as enablers of SCA and suggesting five broad dimensions of firm performance (operational, marketing, relational, cost and financial) as key performance implications of SCA. Theoretical substantiation is provided by integrating the resource theories with the service-dominant logic (SDL). Using data from 245 service firms in Australia collected using a novel approach, the analysis found that firm innovativeness is positively related to SCA, and SCA is positively related to firm performance making notably conceptual, methodological and empirical contributions. Achieving SCA from an innovation perspective has attracted less attention but has become central for firms operating within the service industry and in uncertainty contexts. This research also contributes to SCA in holistically examining its benefits and presents one of the few studies which empirically validates the statement that SCA manages market changes rapidly in a cost-effective way to gain a competitive advantage. The thesis concludes with a detailed discussion on implications, limitations and a future research agenda.