Purpose

In the age of Industry 4.0 (I4.0), digital technologies (DTs) and the technologies' application in supply chain activities have become more important. On the other hand, global pressures for corporate social responsibility in the sustainable production of products are increasing. Accordingly, the purpose of this research is to develop and validate an instrument to measure the impact of digital supply chain (DSC) activities on the sustainable performance of manufacturing companies.

Design/methodology/approach

In the first step, through an in-depth study of the relevant literature, a conceptual model was developed and a questionnaire containing 51 indicators was designed. The questionnaire was distributed among 356 top managers and experts of the Iranian manufacturing companies, whereby finally 233 sound questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of about 64%. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to identify constructs and sub-constructs and the relationship between them was investigated using the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) method.

Findings

Based on the obtained results, three constructs were identified, namely main activities (including sub-constructs: digital supplier, digital manufacturing, digital logistics and innovation and digital customer), support activities (with sub-constructs digital performance, DT and digital human resources) and sustainable performance (with sub-constructs of economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability). The designed tool has excellent psychometric properties. The values of t-statistic = 11.07 and β = 0.602 indicate the positive impact of the DSC main activities on sustainable performance. Similarly, t = 2.42 and β = 0.149 prove that DSC support activities have a positive impact on sustainable performance. Also, based on the obtained values (t = 13.16 and β = 0.629), support activities have a significant impact on the main activities of the DSC. Finally, based on the calculated goodness-of-fit (GoF) index value (0.522), this paper concluded that the proposed model has high credibility.

Research limitations/implications

Validation of the model is based on the answers received from the Iranian manufacturing companies. Therefore, caution should be taken regarding the generalizability of the results.

Practical implications

The proposed model presents a holistic view of the application of DTs in the supply chain and the DTs' impact on sustainable performance which might help manufacturing companies, particularly the Iranian companies to obtain a broader knowledge of the importance of DTs and DTs' usage toward responding to the challenges of today's complex business environment.

Originality/value

This study is among the first of the study's kind that attempts to develop and validate an instrument to measure the impact of DSC activities on the sustainable performance of manufacturing companies.

中文翻译：

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开发和验证一种工具来衡量数字供应链活动对可持续绩效的影响

目的

在工业4.0（I4.0）时代，数字技术（DTs）及其在供应链活动中的应用变得更加重要。另一方面，全球对产品可持续生产的企业社会责任的压力越来越大。因此，本研究的目的是开发和验证一种工具，以衡量数字供应链 (DSC) 活动对制造公司可持续绩效的影响。

设计/方法/途径

第一步，通过深入研究相关文献，建立概念模型，设计包含51个指标的调查问卷。问卷分发给了伊朗制造企业的356位高层管理人员和专家，最终收回了233份完善的问卷，回收率约为64%。探索性因素分析 (EFA) 用于识别结构和子结构，并使用偏最小二乘结构方程模型 (PLS-SEM) 方法研究它们之间的关系。

发现

根据获得的结果，确定了三个结构，即主要活动（包括子结构：数字供应商、数字制造、数字物流和创新以及数字客户）、支持活动（包括子结构数字绩效、DT 和数字人力资源） ) 和可持续绩效（具有经济可持续性、环境可持续性和社会可持续性的子结构）。设计的工具具有出色的心理测量特性。t统计量 = 11.07 和β = 0.602的值 表明 DSC 主要活动对可持续绩效的积极影响。同样，t  = 2.42 和β = 0.149 证明 DSC 支持活动对可持续绩效有积极影响。此外，根据获得的值（t  = 13.16 和β  = 0.629），支持活动对 DSC 的主要活动有重大影响。最后，基于计算出的拟合优度（GoF）指标值（0.522），本文得出结论，所提出的模型具有较高的可信度。

研究局限性/影响

模型的验证基于从伊朗制造公司收到的答复。因此，应谨慎考虑结果的普遍性。

实际影响

所提出的模型全面展示了 DT 在供应链中的应用以及 DT 对可持续绩效的影响，这可能有助于制造公司，特别是伊朗公司更广泛地了解 DT 的重要性以及 DT 的使用对响应的重要性应对当今复杂商业环境的挑战。

原创性/价值

这项研究是同类研究中的首批研究之一，它试图开发和验证一种工具来衡量 DSC 活动对制造公司可持续绩效的影响。