Title: Linking IT to supply chain agility: does knowledge management make a difference in SMEs?

Authors: Alireza Shiranifar; Mohamadhossein Rahmati; Farbod Jafari

Addresses: Department of Management, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran ' Department of Management, Islamic Azad University, Dehaghan Branch, Dehaghan, Iran ' Department of Management, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine how information technology (IT) and knowledge management affect supply chain agility in a small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) context. Drawing on SMEs, this study hypothesises and tests the relationship between IT and knowledge management and supply chain agility. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is performed to test the relationship between the research variables. The results obtained from SEM reveal that IT positively affects knowledge management. The results also indicate that knowledge management and IT significantly affect the dimensions of supply chain agility (demand response, customer responsiveness and joint planning).

Keywords: information technology; knowledge management; supply chain management; supply chain agility; demand response; customer responsiveness; joint planning; medium-sized enterprises; SMEs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2019.102066

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2019 Vol.34 No.1, pp.123 - 138

Received: 15 Jul 2017
Accepted: 02 Feb 2018

Published online: 05 Sep 2019 *

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