Supply chain resilience in the Colombian defense sector before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative study.

Unforeseen events can significantly affect organizations' supply chains and disrupt their continuous flow. Therefore, organizations need to develop a response capability that allows them to minimize the negative effect of such events and quickly recover from them, also known as resilience. This research performs a comparative analysis of the influence that risk, vulnerability, and adaptability have on the resilience capability of supply chains in Colombian defense sector organizations before and during the coronavirus outbreak. Based on a literature review, a survey was designed and applied online to collect data from respondents related to the activities of the Colombian Air Force supply chain. For the first wave, data was collected between December 2019 and January 2020. Data for the second wave was collected in August 2020. Results suggest that identifying and managing risks positively impact reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptability. Moreover, by decreasing exposure and improving adaptability, the organization positively influences supply chain resilience capability. The results also indicate that the pandemic positively affected risk and vulnerability awareness. The identification of vulnerabilities had a positive impact on the resilience capacity during the Corona Virus outbreak. This research provides relevant information for the Colombian government on developing public policies and mechanisms of service and support for defense sector organizations to strengthen their resilience capability. Likewise, the study offers valuable information to those organizations interested in improving their resilience capability and that of the sector in which they are involved.

Strategy and additive technologies as the catalyst for outsourcing, process innovation and operational effectiveness.

PURPOSE: There is rising interest in Industry 4.0 as a factor in the competitiveness of the organization. Although many companies are aware of the importance of Industry 4.0, the development of such initiatives in Colombia is slow. Consequently, this research investigates the impact of additive technologies as part of the Industry 4.0 concept on operational effectiveness and, therefore, the competitiveness of the organization and tries to establish the factors that hinder the adequate implementation of such new, innovative technologies. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the antecedents and outcomes of operational effectiveness. To this end, 946 usable questionnaires were collected from managers and personnel from Colombian organizations. FINDINGS: Initial findings show that management is aware of Industry 4.0 concepts and implements strategies for such initiatives. Nevertheless, neither process innovation nor additive technologies have a significant impact on operational effectiveness and therefore on the competitiveness of the organization. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The implementation of new innovative technologies requires the closure of the digital gap between urban and rural areas and between large and medium and small enterprises. Similarly, the concept of Industry 4.0 as a new, innovative manufacturing concept requires a transversal implementation to increase the competitiveness of the organization. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The value of this paper lies in discussing the current technological and human capabilities and strategies that Colombian organizations, as an example of a developing nation, should improve to leverage the benefits of Industry 4.0 to remain competitive. The results are probably generalizable to other regions in developing countries throughout the world.

An investigation of the impact of human capital and supply chain competitive drivers on firm performance in a developing country.

PURPOSE: This paper aims to determine the effect that human capital and key competitive drivers such as quality, agility, and cost have on firm performance, whether this effect is related to the firm's outsourcing strategy, and whether the firm size is relevant in explaining such relationships. DESIGN: This study uses structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized relationships for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and large organizations using a custom survey based on a review of the literature and completed by 404 firms in the Valle del Cauca agro-industrial region in Colombia. FINDINGS: Human capital strategies are essential for the effective deployment of operational agility, quality, and cost management strategies, which impact firm performance through effective outsourcing strategies. These relationships, however, do not hold the same across firms of different sizes. Specifically, outsourcing practices are lacking amongst SMEs in the studied region. The study is limited to a specific region, with infrastructure and connectivity limitations that hinder or undermine otherwise potentially valuable third-party logistics strategies. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This paper contributes to the theory and practice in supply chain competitiveness by extending current knowledge of the impact of human capital and key competitive drivers on firm performance, highlighting regional specificities that could hinder firms' competitiveness, and by presenting a novel, quantitative methodology seldom used for these topics.