Agility in humanitarian supply chain: an organizational information processing perspective and relational view

Area of Science:

• Supply Chain Management
• Disaster Relief Operations
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Humanitarian organizations face efficiency and effectiveness challenges in disaster relief.
• Key issues include lack of trust, poor collaboration, and slow response times.
• Understanding swift-trust, collaboration, and agility is crucial for improving humanitarian efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how information sharing and supply chain visibility enhance swift-trust among humanitarian actors.
• To examine the relationship between swift-trust, commitment, collaboration, and agility in humanitarian supply chains.
• To provide theoretical and empirical insights into overcoming challenges in disaster relief operations.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical model grounded in organizational information process theory and relational view.
• Variance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) used for hypothesis testing.
• Survey data collected from 147 NGOs via a web-based instrument.

Main Results:

• Information sharing and supply chain visibility positively influence swift-trust.
• Swift-trust, commitment, and collaboration are significant drivers of agility in humanitarian supply chains.
• Findings advance theoretical understanding of swift-trust and agility in humanitarian contexts.

Conclusions:

• Humanitarian organizations must prioritize information sharing and supply chain visibility to build swift-trust.
• Developing swift-trust is essential for fostering collaboration and enhancing agility in disaster relief.
• The study offers practical guidance for managers in humanitarian supply chain operations.