Resilience development and digitalization of the healthcare supply chain: an exploratory study in emerging economies

Purpose Healthcare supply chains (HSCs) have been adopting Industry 4.0 (I4.0) as a means to boost their resilience. The first objective of this study is to identify the effect of contextual variables of HSCs on resilience development and I4.0 adoption. Second, the paper examines the pervasiveness of the relationship between resilience and I4.0 across different contextual characteristics. Design/methodology/approach 179 organizations from the HSC in Brazil and India were surveyed. Responses were analyzed using multivariate data techniques. Findings Large HSC agents are more likely to develop resilience abilities and adopt I4.0 technologies when these factors are analyzed independently. However, the joint analysis of resilience and I4.0 displayed a large number of significant correlations among small organizations. Originality/value Findings provide managers of HSC arguments to enhance resilience through the digitalization. HSC organizations can identify HSC organizations' context to tailor initiatives on resilience and digitalization.