Title: IT flexibility and downstream petroleum supply chain performance

Authors: Ashutosh Sheel; Y.P. Singh; Vishnu Nath

Addresses: Motherhood Univeristy Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, Distt.-Haridwar, Uttrakhand, India ' Noble Institute of Management, Lucknow-227202, Uttar Pradesh, India ' Faculty of Management Studies, Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Jagjeetpur, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 249404, India

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the role of IT flexibility in improving firm performance of the firms in the downstream supply chain of petroleum industry. Using a structured questionnaire, data was collected from 348 petrol stations in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, India. The results show that transactional, operational and strategic IT flexibility as well as process integration affect firm performance. Based on this, certain IT solutions are proposed for the identified issues in the downstream supply chain of petroleum industry in India. For researchers, the present study shows how various IT flexibilities are connected with one another (in a particular industry) and how they affect firm performance via process integration. For managers, the study highlights the importance of IT flexibility and proposes IT solutions for the identified issues. The research extends past frameworks on IT flexibility for solving issues of downstream petroleum supply chain in India.

Keywords: IT flexibility; supply chain performance; AHP; petroleum; operations management; supply chain management; IT solutions; process integration.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2019.103453

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2019 Vol.19 No.4, pp.532 - 556

Received: 11 Jul 2018
Accepted: 02 Sep 2018
Published online: 06 Nov 2019 *

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