Understanding when and how supply chain analytics, supply chain strategies, and desorptive capacity matter in enhancing healthcare supply chain performance

Purpose Healthcare organizations are placing greater emphasis on enhancing supply chain performance to cut costs and boost operational efficiency. Despite the growth of literature on the relevance of contemporary supply chain technologies in enhancing supply chain performance, it is still unclear how healthcare organizations could leverage supply chain analytics through supply chain strategies to improve healthcare supply chain performance (HSCP). This paper attempts to bridge this gap by examining how enhanced HSCP could be achieved through supply chain analytics (SCA) as well as building responsive, resilient, and reconfiguration (3Rs) SCs. The paper further assessed the moderating role of desorptive capacity between SCA and HSCP. Design/methodology/approach The practice-based view motivated the study. The model underwent validation using primary data collected from 374 managers of healthcare facilities in Ghana. Data analysis was conducted using a structural equation model. Findings The findings revealed that SCA significantly drives HSCP, supply chain resilience, responsiveness, and reconfiguration. The findings further showed that the three supply chain strategies (supply chain resilience, responsiveness, and reconfiguration) aid in channeling the effect of SCA to drive enhanced HSCP. Finally, we also observed high levels of desorptive capacity amplifying SCA’s impact on HSCP. Practical implications This paper makes important contributions to both literature and practice by empirically demonstrating how the effect of SCA can be channeled through supply chain strategies (supply chain resilience, responsiveness, and reconfiguration) to enhance SCP at varying levels of desorptive capacity. Practically, our study has demonstrated that SCA is not a “silver bullet” and that it must be integrated with supply chain strategies to reap the full benefits. Originality/value To the best of our knowledge, this paper is among the few attempts to empirically validate the relevance of supply chain analytics from the healthcare perspective. Moreover, the novelty of this paper demonstrates the coverage of the newfound mechanism, where supply chain resilience, responsiveness, and reconfiguration mediate and desorptive capacity moderate SCA and HSCP relationship. Finally, the paper questions the use of traditional organizational theories (RBV and DCT) and validates the applicability of a practice-based view as an alternative theoretical lens that could offer more nuanced insights into the unique characteristics and challenges of healthcare supply chains.