Disruptive Technologies for Achieving Supply Chain Resilience in COVID-19 Era: An Implementation Case Study of Satellite Imagery and Blockchain Technologies in Fish Supply Chain

Explaining Firm Performance During the COVID-19 With fsQCA: The Role of Supply Network Complexity, Inventory Turns, and Geographic Dispersion

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected firm performance. As a result, many studies have examined the significance of supply network complexity. Our paper uses the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method to investigate the causal relationships among the supply network complexity, geographic dispersion, inventory turns, and firm performance. Using a sample of 263 Chinese listed firms, we find that no single factor is necessary to achieve high firm performance during COVID-19 and reveal four paths to produce high performance: operational level driven, supply base complexity driven, and customer base complexity driven with supplier distance, and supply network complexity absence. Furthermore, our findings suggest that supply-based complexity-driven and customer-based complexity-driven can improve firm performance, but not all supply network complexity dimensions can improve firm performance. Hence, firms need to choose the suitable path based on their specific situations.

Blockchain technology in supply chain management: an organizational theoretic overview and research agenda

Blockchain technology is touted as a game-changer. Many experts consider blockchain technology as one of the disruptive innovations. Following significant success in the banking and finance sector, blockchain technology has found significant success in all fields, including health, manufacturing, transportation, disaster relief operations, and many others. Recently, the academician has contributed significantly towards understanding blockchain technology and its application in the management field. To understand how the literature on blockchain technology in the supply chain has progressed, we undertook an extensive review of the literature published in peer-reviewed journals using databases such as SCOPUS. We have further classified our literature into four stages (pre-adoption, adoption, implementation, and application). Finally, we synthesized the findings of the study and proposed a research framework to explain how an organization can build supply chain resilience and enhance supply chain performance with the help of blockchain technology. Finally, we have noted the limitations of the study and future research directions.

Hygienic assessment of fish handling practices along production and supply chain and its public health implications in Central Oromia, Ethiopia

Fishborne diseases are among the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Contamination of the aquatic ecosystem and unhygienic handling practices along the fish supply chain can lead to a contaminated fish. Consumption of raw or under cooked fish and fish products is a major source of fishborne infections in humans. Despite reports of fish contamination with foodborne pathogens in Ethiopia, information regarding the hygienic status of fish handling practices is limited. We assessed fish hygienic handling practices at production sites and along the fish supply chain in three towns in east Shewa zone of Oromia. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire interviews and personal observations. The study consisted of purposively selected respondents comprising of 50 fishermen, 10 retailers, 20 food establishments serving fish, and 120 consumers. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used to present the proportion of various actors along the fish production and supply chain and to compare the proportions of observations among the different categories respectively. We observed that the lakes were accessible to animals and exposed to chemical and microbial contaminations through rainwater run-off. Fish were processed under unhygienic practices like washing of filleted fish with lake water, indiscriminate processing at unhygienic landing sites, use of a single knife for processing all fish with infrequent washing and with no disinfection in between. Majority (70%; n = 10) of the retailers and all the food establishments transported fish in vehicles with no cold chain facilities. Good hygienic practices we observed were the use of refrigerators for storage in all retailers and 70% (n = 20) of the food establishments; 30% of retailers used vehicles with a cold chain facility for the transportation of fish. Over three-fourths (77%; n = 120) of the consumers preferred consuming raw fish; 80% of them lacked the knowledge of fishborne diseases. The study revealed a wide range of unhygienic handling practices along fish production and supply chain; lack of infrastructure for post-harvest fish handling and processing, lack of appropriate transportation facilities and presence of knowledge gaps regarding fish borne diseases.