Digital Technologies as Strategic Resources: A Resource-Based Framework for Supply Chain Visibility Enhancement

Purpose: In the era of digital transformation, enhancing supply chain visibility through digital technologies is critical, yet there is limited consensus on their application across strategic, tactical, and operational levels within focal organization. This study investigates how digital technologies enhance supply chain visibility by enabling focal firms to acquire and exploit information from key stakeholders: suppliers, customers, and internal teams.Design/Methodology/Approach: Grounded in the resource-based view theory and employing structural equation modeling, the study analyzes the relationships between different levels of digital technology application and three dimensions of supply chain visibility: supplier, customer, and internal visibility.Findings: The findings reveal that strategic and tactical applications of digital technologies significantly enhance all three dimensions of supply chain visibility, while operational applications show no significant effect.Implications/Originality/Value: Findings advance the supply chain management literature by empirically validating the differential impacts of tactical and strategic digital technology applications on three distinct dimensions of supply chain visibility, conceptualized herein for the first time. Addressing recent calls for deeper inquiry into digital technology and supply chain management integration, it offers theoretical grounding via the Resource-Based View and practical guidance for manufacturing firms in emerging economies to enhance visibility and performance through targeted digital investments.