Work

The Impact of Digital Technology Characteristics on Operational Decision Optimization: The Mediating Role of Information System Agility in Healthcare Supply Chains

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Healthcare supply chains operate in highly dynamic environments characterized by fluctuating demand. Digitalization, by enhancing the agility of information systems, can shorten information processing cycles, strengthen environmental sensing, and improve rapid response capabilities, thereby becoming a critical pathway and urgent requirement for achieving decision optimization in supply chains. The objective of this study is to analyze the mediating role of information system agility between digital technology characteristics and the optimization of operational decisions in healthcare supply chains in China. A questionnaire survey was conducted, yielding 360 valid responses from managers in Chinese healthcare supply chain enterprises, representing a response rate of 94.48%. The hypothesized paths were analyzed through the application of structural equation modeling. The results reveal that compatibility and visibility significantly promote operational decision optimization both directly and indirectly through improved information system agility, whereas reliability influences decision optimization only indirectly through the full mediating role of agility. This study provides a robust theoretical model that extends organizational information processing theory to the healthcare supply chain while offering practical insights into digital transformation and decision optimization.

Source: Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su17188471

Authors: Jing-Yan Ma, Tae-Won Kang

Institutions: Kunsan National University, Nantong Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Supply Chain and Inventory Management

Subfield: Management Information Systems

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896